American Samoa § 2.0502 - Powers and duties.

§ 2.0502. Powers and duties.

The Legislative Reference Bureau has the following powers and duties: (1) to assist the members of the Legislature in the proper performance of their functions by providing them with impartial and accurate information and reports concerning legislative problems that come or may come before them; (2) to provide a comprehensive research and reference service on legislative and administrative problems; (3) to secure reports of various officers and boards of the Territory, and, as far as possible, of the states and of the other Territories of the United States, and such other material, periodicals and books, as will furnish the fullest information practicable upon all matters pertaining to current or proposed legislation and to legislative and administrative problems; (4) to secure information for the legislators by cooperating with the legislative reference services in the various states and Territories, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the Council of State Governments; (5) to furnish, upon the written request of any member of the Legislature, a digest of information and material pertaining to legislative problems; (6) to draft or aid in drafting bills, resolutions, memorials and amendments thereto, and to render legal services in connection therewith, for any member of the Legislature upon request; and (7) to codify and continuously recodify the laws of American Samoa, under the guidance of the policies of the Senate and House Committees on Rules, into the American Samoa Code and assemble and publish collections of acts, resolutions, and other measures of the Legislature. The Bureau may not alter the meaning, effect, intent, or substance of any act, but within such limitations, may renumber sections and parts of sections, rearrange sections, change reference numbers to agree with renumbered chapters, sections or other parts, substitute the proper subsections, section or chapter or other division numbers, change capitalization for the purpose of uniformity, and correct manifest clerical or typographical errors. Amendments: 1973 Paragraph (8): deleted reference to “Code section” and rephrased paragraph. 1977 Public Law 15-30, in paragraph (4), substituted “the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the Council of State Governments” for “with the National Legislative Conference maintained by the Council of State Governments”, and added the word ‘Territories”. Public Law 15-38, in paragraph (7), added the words “and continuously recodify”, and the words “under the guidance of the policies of the Senate and House Committees on Rules, into the American Samoa Code”.