AGO 97042.

• Court: Nebraska

Nebraska Attorney General Opinions 1997. AGO 97042. DATE: August 20, 1997SUBJECT: Approval by the Governor of Assessments for the Nebraska Power Review Fund in Light of Existing Legislative Appropriations and Neb. Rev. Stat. §70-1020 (1996) REQUESTED BY: Gary D. Gustafson, Executive Director Nebraska Power Review BoardWRITTEN BY: Don Stenberg, Attorney General Dale A. Comer, Assistant Attorney General During the 1997 legislative session, the Nebraska Legislature appropriated certain amounts from the Nebraska Power Review Fund for the operation of the Nebraska Power Review Board (the "Board"). The monies in that fund are derived from an annual assessment levied against certain Nebraska governmental subdivisions, and the amount of the assessment levied each fiscal year is determined by the Board with the approval of the Governor. The Governor has now indicated that he will not approve an increased assessment proposed by the Board which is needed to totally fund the amounts appropriated by the Legislature during its 1997 session. You wish to know, "[d]oes the Governor have the authority to restrict the Power Review Board from assessing power suppliers of Nebraska for the funds to meet the appropriation granted to the Power Review Board by the Legislature?" We believe that the Governor does have such authority, and our analysis is set out below. FACTS From your opinion request letter, we understand that the Board prepared a budget of $166,493 for fiscal year 1997-1998, and proposed that figure to the Governor for inclusion in the budget which he is required to submit to the Legislature as a part of the biennial state budgeting process. In the budget which he subsequently presented to the Legislature for fiscal year 1997- 1998, however, the Governor reduced the amount of the Board's appropriation to $155,778. Thereafter, the Appropriations Committee of the Legislature prepared a budget bill which included $169,320 for the Board for fiscal year 1997-1998. As the 1997 legislative process proceeded, it was discovered that the Board's reserve fund did not contain sufficient monies to meet the Board's obligations to its Executive Director and his Administrative Assistant for accumulated sick leave and vacation time should either of those individuals take early retirement or die while still employed by the state. Therefore, the Board...