Using an abundance of caution is what taxpayers expect of their lawmakers, especially when something like $40 million is at stake. But they also have the right to demand timely decision-making to secure a deal that’s in the long-term public interest.
That’s what’s at stake with the vote, anticipated to be taken Thursday, on the bill to fund the state’s portion of the conservation easement limiting the expansion of Turtle Bay Resort. Negotiations involving the developer, a private land trust and city and state officials to preserve 665 acres, including the pristine Kawela Bay, concluded mid-session, which meant the rush was on to secure the $40 million the state tentatively promised in the deal.
So yes, there was a conference-committee scramble to get enabling legislation together. And this meant many lawmakers were unclear on the terms, not the least of which was the stipulation about public access to the lands preserved in the easement.
It’s right that all be able to see the language, in writing, to gain assurance about public access. That issue is key to why the state has a stake in preservation on the North Shore, so clarity is critical.
However, that can’t become the excuse for putting the legislation on ice for a year. The public has had strong advocates in the negotiations, so making the basic stipulation that access is required, making the funds contingent on it being in the final documents at closing, should be sufficient.
This is a golden opportunity to ensure that a share of the North Shore’s scenic, environmental and recreational resources is part of the public endowment for the future. A vote Thursday will allow the state to capitalize on that opportunity.
Too often, such opportunities are missed at the state Capitol. Witness what has happened with the bill to privatize the operations of state-run hospitals, which have been draining the public purse at an alarming, accelerating rate.
Lawmakers balked on enabling legislation to allow a partnership with, or outright sale to, a local nonprofit provider. The system of 12 facilities is managed by the Hawaii Health Systems Corp. (HHSC), whose officials say the state can no longer afford to cover the rising costs. But rather than allow a transition to a new operating model, legislators simply cut almost a third out of the HHSC funding request, leaving a $48 million shortfall.
This solves nothing, and all but guarantees the agency will be seeking another emergency allotment, as it did last fall, to pay its bills.
There have been bright spots on the legislative calendar, however:
» Legislators killed a proposal to allow the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to develop residential units in the Kakaako waterfront zone designated for uses accessible to the general public. A hard-won and worthy land-use policy decision is being upheld.
» There was incremental progress on funding for early learning programs, and on the share of funds counties get from the hotel room tax. The allotments were not optimal, but they lay the groundwork for further improvements.
» The statute of limitations has been extended for potential plaintiffs in child sex-abuse lawsuits, and state and county employees also will be liable. Lifting the prior public-employee exemption was always unfair.
The process of lawmaking can be halting and slow, and to a certain extent that’s as it should be. Legislators should hesitate in the exercise of good judgment, though, not simply to postpone difficult decisions they’re elected to make. The 2014 session, set to end Thursday, delivered mixed results on this measure.
