The Financial and Fiscal Commission (the Commission) is a Chapter 9 institution established in terms of section 220 of the Constitution. Section 3(2)(b)(i) of the Financial and Fiscal Commission Act, 1997 mandates the Commission to undertake research and report to Parliament and provincial legislatures. On this basis the Commission undertook a study on the review of the local government fiscal framework. The Commission's report on its findings, entitled "Sustaining Local Government Finances - Final Report on the Financial and Fiscal Commission's Public Hearings on the Review of the Local Government Fiscal Framework", was tabled in Parliament on 22 April 2013. The Select Committee on Appropriations, in terms of the powers and functions conferred to it by the Constitution, Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act, 2009 and the standing rules, considered this report.