(a) The purpose of the office of the legislative analyst shall be:
Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 21F-7
Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
User fees: Fees charged to users of goods or services provided by the government. In levying or authorizing these fees, the legislature determines whether the revenue should go into the treasury or should be available to the agency providing the goods or services.
(1) To provide the legislature with research and analysis of current and projected state revenues and expenditures;(2) To provide the legislature with a report analyzing the governor’s proposed levels of revenue and expenditures for biennial budgets submitted under chapter 37 as well as other supplemental budget submittals to the legislature by the governor;(3) To provide an analysis of the impact of the governor’s proposed revenue and expenditure plans for the next biennium;(4) To conduct research matters of economic and fiscal policy and to report to the legislature on the result of the research;(5) To provide economic reports and studies on the state of the State’s economy, including trends and forecasts for consideration by the legislature;(6) To conduct budget and tax studies and provide general fiscal and budgetary information;(7) To review and make recommendations on the operation of state programs in order to appraise the implementation of state laws regarding the expenditure of funds and to recommend means of improving their efficiency; and(8) To recommend to the legislature changes in the mix of revenue sources for programs, in the percentage of state expenditures devoted to major programs, and in the role of the legislature in overseeing state government expenditures and revenue projections.(b) In performing the duties under subsection (a), the legislative analyst shall consider, among other things:
(1) The relative dependence on state tax revenues, federal funds, and user fees to support state-funded programs, and whether the existing mix of revenue sources is appropriate, given the purposes of the programs;(2) The relative percentages of state expenditures that are devoted to major programs such as education, assistance to local government, aid to individuals, state agencies and institutions, and debt service; and(3) The role of the legislature in overseeing state government expenditures, including legislative appropriation of money from the general fund, legislative appropriation of money from funds other than the general fund, state agency receipt of money into revolving and other dedicated funds and expenditure of money from these funds, and state agency expenditure of federal funds.
