So much to do, so little time.

That could define the jobs of many people, but among them certainly has to be Marion Higa, state auditor. Every year the Legislature rolls out requests for studies of various state agencies.

Now the Senate has added a comprehensive audit of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. And hurry it up, please.

Here's the rub: State law requires OHA to be audited every four years, and since the last one was done in 2005, Higa anticipated finishing the next one in 2009.

A Senate resolution is pressing her staff to finish it in time for the 2009 session. If there is a compelling reason that the audit needs to be done that quickly, it hasn't been made clear by the Agriculture and Hawaiian Affairs Committee that passed it.

Its chair, Sen. Jill Tokuda, insists that the resolution was driven only by demands from OHA beneficiaries who criticize the way the agency spends money. She added that the series of four-year cycles originally was to have begun in 1996, which would have made an audit due this year.

Funny how that scheduling lag never mattered until this year, in the wake of a major spat. The Senate balked at finalizing a negotiated settlement of revenues owed OHA.

The Legislature needs to treat requests for audits with an even hand. This year such requests may include studies of University of Hawai'i athletics and the Department of Education. It's hard to imagine why an OHA audit should rise to the top of the list.