Concern over state spending has driven Gov. Josh Green to place an assortment of 17 bills on his intent-to-veto list. Among them:

>> House Bill 2526 to raise penalties for unlicensed drivers — which really should be allowed to take effect despite speculative additional costs;

>> Measures that should be vetoed because they would sequester funds potentially needed for Maui wildfire recovery spending or affordable housing; and

>> Bills making a hefty allocation to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) and increasing its powers that should be vetoed because they are premature, given HDOA’s lackluster capabilities.

The governor’s impulse to veto HB 2526 is misguided. The bill allows for a felony prosecution and court-ordered forfeiture of a driver’s vehicle if a driver is repeatedly found driving without a license, and Green says the bill would increase criminal justice system caseloads without additional funding. But some crimes can’t be tolerated, despite potential time or expense involved in imposing consequences. Because unlawful drivers threaten lives, this is one of those crimes.

HB 2526 was introduced after the senseless death of McKinley High School student Sara Yara, who was struck and killed in a marked crosswalk on her way to school by a car driven by unlicensed driver Mitchel Miyashiro. Miyashiro had been charged 12 times in the previous five years for driving without a license, with little consequence; he is now charged with negligent homicide, collision involving death or serious bodily injury and — once again— driving without a license. As the law now stands, there is no escalation in penalties for repeated violations.

Drivers like Miyashiro who flout the unlicensed-driver law repeatedly pose a threat to the safety of others, and must be forced off the road. HB 2526 raises the charge for a third or subsequent offense involving unlicensed driving to a Class C felony, under which a perpetrator could be jailed and a court could order forfeiture of the vehicle involved. The bill is supported by Honolulu Prosecutor Steve Alm, who testified that it would help make roads safer. This bill must be allowed to take effect.

Conversely, other bills can be justifiably vetoed:

>> House Bill 40 would transfer $300 million from the general fund to the Emergency Budget and Reserve Fund, and move $135 million into the state’s pension fund. Gov. Green is correct to label these appropriations “financially imprudent,” given uncertainty over the extent of spending required for Maui wildfire recovery work and creating affordable housing, statewide. The more prudent plan is to veto HB 40 and assess the state’s financial health after recovery costs get clearer.

>> Ironically, Senate Bill 3068 appropriates about $460 million for Maui wildfire expenses next fiscal year, a figure not far from the $435 million at stake with HB 40. Here, the governor must veto the bill not because the spending is unjustified, but because the bill — inadvertently, Green says — zeroes out a $230 million appropriation for affordable housing, also a crucial state responsibility. Because Green can adjust the budget bill to account for this spending, a veto is appropriate.

>> House Bill 2619, appropriating $19.8 million to HDOA to prevent, control or eradicate invasive pests such as coconut rhinoceros beetles, little fire ants and coqui frogs, addresses action which is indeed necessary, and urgent. However, it’s questionable whether the department is prepared to effectively ramp up operations, given its observably slow pace and deference to industry. The governor’s take is that it’s not clear what is “feasible and executable” by the HDOA. But if he vetoes this bill, Green must ensure right-sized funding for invasive species work is allocated, and progress is made.

>> Similarly, Senate Bill 572, giving HDOA power to declare a biosecurity emergency and take action under certain conditions, places outsized authority in the department and should be vetoed. Green asserts this could lead to disruption of harbor operations and distribution of goods — a power too “extreme” to allocate to the HDOA.