HARRY HUGHES, Governor

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an essential executive power, the bill violates the separation of
powers clause. Accordingly, we are unable to approve these
bills.

Article 8 of the Declaration of Rights provides as follows:

"That the Legislative, Executive and Judicial powers of
Government ought to be forever separate and distinct from
each other; and no person exercising the functions of one of
said Departments shall assume or discharge the duties of any
other."

In interpreting this article, this office has said that it means
that

"...one branch may not usurp the essential functions and
powers of another branch, may not act to destroy the
essential functions and powers of another branch, and may
not delegate its essential functions and powers to another
branch."
(citations omitted).

63 Opinions of the Attorney General 305, 310 (1978). However,
this office has recognized that the authority of each branch is
absolute only with respect to its core powers. Beyond these core
areas, there is a twilight in which the branches have concurrent
power. Ibid. The issue here is whether the certification of
State projects for the solicitation of private donations in
accordance with certain criteria is an essential executive
function which can not be usurped by the legislative branch.

In a prior bill review letter, it was noted that

"While the cases define 'Executive Power' only in
quite general terms, it is clear that the essential
attribute of this power is the power to carry out,
implement and administer laws. It is this essen-
tial core power which the separation of powers
doctrine protects from usurpation of another
branch."

Letter of May 26, 1979 from Attorney General Sachs to Governor
Hughes concerning House Bill 1589. As the selection of an
organization to perform a study mandated by statute could
reasonably be regarded as an exercise of executive power, it was
concluded that a statutory requirement that a legislative
committee concur in the selection was an usurpation of executive
power in violation of the separation of powers clause. Likewise,
we conclude that the certification, in accordance with certain
criteria, of State projects for which private donations may be
solicited is the implementation of policy and is thus an exercise
of an essential executive function which may not be usurped by
the legislative branch.