Voices have been raised by people justifiably frustrated about the failure of their favored bills to pass this legislative session. Amid the lingering cries, however, it’s important to mark with satisfaction that Hawaii did take steps toward goals that have long eluded the state.
There was a welcome move toward reform of the bail system to be fairer to those charged with a crime, and to lessen the burden on Hawaii’s overcrowded jails.
There is a renewed push toward easing the rental housing shortage, and toward the redevelopment of the Aloha Stadium as a multi-use residential-retail complex. Also, there are smaller but crucial laws making it easier to direct some of the more chronically homeless individuals toward treatment that can help them off the street.
But topping the list of new laws — either already signed by Gov. David Ige or poised to be enacted without a signature — has to be the one that affects every Hawaii adult: easier access to the ballot, through House Bill 1248.
For years, the state has been expanding the voter franchise, through early voting, absentee balloting and same-day registration. Making ballots available to all voters by mail effectively removes the excuse almost anyone might have for waving off their electoral responsibility. The statewide vote-by-mail proposition certainly would help those with difficult schedules.
Hawaii is undeniably headed that way, in any case. About 56% of voters voted early in the 2014 primary, according to the bill’s preamble, and about 83% of those did so with an absentee ballot.
As the Elections Office prepares to implement the program starting with the 2020 primary election, there needs to be a public education campaign and clear guidelines so that vote-by-mail newcomers are prepared. Part of that will require clear notification of when ballots have to be received to be counted; the confusion that erupted over the City Council Trevor Ozawa-Tommy Waters race must not be repeated.
And that whole mess inspired the enactment of Senate Bill 216, spelling out the rules for a mandatory recount. Clarity is welcome here.
A few of the other mileposts from the session:
>> In 2016, the adoption of House Concurrent Resolution 85 set up a task force for corrections reform, and it’s gratifying to see two of its recommendations put in the law books. HB 1552 established the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission, an independent body that should help hold the Department of Public Safety more accountable for its management. Overcrowding and rioting such as what erupted at the Maui jail cannot go unchecked.
>> Additionally, SB 192 passed, laying out another path toward fairer management of jail populations. The law allows the court to release a defendant on unsecured bail; the cash-secured bail system does leave lower-income defendants with few choices other than jail time.
>> There’s now more money allocated for homeless services, and allowing “ohana zones” to be possible on private land may help the state realize that fallback sheltering option for the homeless. Other bills, such as SB 1124 and SB 567, should make the community treatment of the homeless with mental illness a more practical option.
>> And there’s hope for a boost to the housing inventory, with both the enabling legislation for the Aloha Stadium redevelopment (HB 1586) and the funding for more rental-unit construction coming through.
What most of these new laws have in common is that they are only initial steps in efforts to correct a few of the state’s more glaring shortcomings. It will take continued public pressure to move their targeted goals within reach.
