The opening of the Legislature after the state’s changing of the guard is always consequential, with the start of a new administration as well as the arrival of newly elected lawmakers. It sets the tone for the relationship between legislators and a new governor, and it signals how the debates on everything, from marijuana and gambling to housing and crime, will play out.

And there always are debates. This year they will resurrect some familiar themes, such as schools. The early-education category, for example, is likely to take center stage, with Gov. Josh Green and Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke eager to make universal preschool central to their program.

The state Senate majority has issued a roster of its priority concerns. Housing and education sit on top of a list that also includes health, agriculture, economic development and infrastructure, and environment and natural resource management — all undeniable crucial focal points. Possible entry points are even more numerous, as seen in the House list of 327 reports from state departments, although few of them will bubble to the surface.

But the really big reveal this session, which convenes Wednesday, will be how well the Green/Luke administration communicates with the legislative branch and finds common ground on the inevitable clashes.

Just the fact that the state’s top two executives on the fifth floor share some history with their former colleagues downstairs could be advantageous, but it didn’t always work out so smoothly during the tenure of former Gov. David Ige, another lawmaking veteran. The public should watch for more hopeful signs, starting now.

Among the perennial initiatives again seeking to break through resistance at the state Capitol: the controversial marijuana legalization campaign as well as a slightly different take on legalized gambling.

Both of these remain problematic and need to be approached with caution.

On the issue of marijuana, the more measured proposal to ease up on some rules surrounding medical cannabis should get the edge over yet another push to legalize adult recreational marijuana entirely. One argument proponents make is that current law results in too much prosecutorial action against what is increasingly an accepted, legal activity in some other states.

But possession of small amounts of cannabis for recreational use already has been decriminalized. The notion that the state could gain economically from legal sales is more than offset by potential harm caused, particularly for youth, by marijuana’s wider availability, whether in products for smoking or as edibles.

Last week, for instance, a study published in the journal Pediatrics reported a surge in accidental consumption of marijuana edibles among children under 6, as more states have legalized recreational cannabis.

A report submitted to legislators last month by the Dual Use Cannabis Task Force included proposals such as easing certain rules governing the state’s existing medical cannabis program. Following that track is more promising: Access to the drug would remain under some supervision and control of medical professionals, who would have more flexibility in determining if the therapeutic use of cannabis is advisable for a particular person.

On gambling, the latest proposal is to permit only poker and sports betting at a single venue licensed by the state and regulated by a commission.

It’s hard to ignore the slippery slope behind this notion, leading to more venues and gambling activities rather than keeping it contained to one. Rather than diminishing the existence of illegal gambling rooms, it would send the wrong message, that the activity itself is state-sanctioned.

If Hawaii is to venture into any form of legal gaming, a lottery would seem far more manageable.

The Legislature will grapple with numerous other knotty issues. Affordable housing looms largest, in the context of the Aloha Stadium redevelopment enterprise as well as the oversight of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands’ implementation of a three-year, $600 million homesteading campaign.

The Senate has a particular role to play at the outset, having confirmation hearings for DHHL director-designate Ikaika Anderson and the rest of Green’s Cabinet. All the nominees must be ready to demonstrate their suitability for the jobs.

But senators have their own responsibility, too: asking the right questions and listening cordially. This should be more of a conversation, with less of the overt grandstanding seen with regularity in the past.

Finally, lawmakers still must heed the public’s continuing calls for ethical, transparent governance. One Senate proposal to enable public campaign financing, as an alternative to alliances with self-interested private donors, deserves a full hearing.

The corruption case that took down two veteran lawmakers, J. Kalani English and Ty Cullen, is still fresh in the public memory. And the public — Hawaii’s voters — demands that their elected representatives clean up their own house as well.