HONOLULU — Gov. Linda Lingle is criticizing a legislative proposal that she says would strip future governors of the power to unilaterally curtail spending or to establish new programs.

Lingle told a Rotary Club meeting Friday that the measure would set up a clash between her successors and the Legislature over who has the final say over spending decisions.
She says the attorney general’s office has written an opinion stating the bill is an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of state government.
The governor also decried measures to raise the state’s general excise and oil taxes, saying they will force wealthy Hawaii residents to flee the state and cause businesses to cut back or fold.