The American Samoa governor, Lolo Matalasi Moliga, is giving the legislature full authority to control its annual budget.
The governor says he has made it a centerpiece of his administration to establish arms-length cooperation between the three branches of government.
Lolo says the legislature will exercise full authority and control for requests, approval and disbursement of funds in its budget.
He says it will ensure a quick and effective government response to residents' demands for quality service.
The governor has asked the legislature to develop protocols to pre-empt unauthorised expenditure.
