On Thursday, Gov. David Ige held ceremonies to sign into law some bills passed by the Legislature. These are celebratory events, and there was reason to celebrate here.
The new legislation included the conversion of more ground-transportation fleets to zero-emissions vehicles, and there were bills touted by the Women’s Caucus that added protections from domestic violence and child sex abuse.
Going forward, however, the work is not at all ceremonial, or particularly celebratory. There were significant cleavages between what lawmakers and Ige favored as the products of the last session, culminating in a list of 28 bills he may veto.
The real work now lies in realigning the tax revenues available — a larger amount, thanks to the accelerating economic recovery — with state needs. And there is much that is now out of alignment.
In May, after the legislative die was cast, the Council on Revenues added about $500 million per year to the revenue forecast for the seven-year economic period, said Gov. David Ige in a meeting with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser editorial board last week.
Further, the nearly $315 million the Legislature appropriated for the state’s debt-service payments over the next two fiscal years tapped federal pandemic relief funds which, Ige said, was barred from such use by federal rules. What state revenues will be used to now fill that debt-service hole will need to be addressed — a special session is under discussion by legislative leadership — and Ige, meanwhile, said he has the legal discretion to use the federal rescue funds as he wishes.
The plan for reconciling the differences will become clear between now and July 6, the deadline for the governor to decide which bills on the list to veto.
All of that upheaval aside, the clouds already have cleared around some important bills that will become law, with or without the governor’s signature. There are a few in particular that have raised some community alarm because Ige did not position them for a veto.
One is House Bill 499, that enables public-land leases now capped at 65 years to be extended without competition to 105 years maximum, if tenants have made major property improvements.
This has rightly drawn opposition especially from Native Hawaiian community leaders who fear that too much acreage would be locked up long-term and unavailable to correct historic wrongs using native lands. More broadly, this practice would preclude taking advantage of changes in the real estate market, a dubious land-management policy.
At a minimum, the state must be scrupulous in meeting mandates for public hearings when a lease extension is being considered. The governor said there are checks and balances to protect the public interest, but transparency seems to be the only one of significance, at least until opponents can make their case for changes next session.
HB 1348, which expands the Stadium Authority powers in the redevelopment of the facility, part of a district that is to include affordable housing as well as entertainment and retail establishments.
Ige said he felt confident that the request-for-proposals process will yield a capable private partner to present a workable plan. State and city authorities still must ensure that affordable housing ranks high on the list of essential project elements for being awarded the contract.
This site is within the city’s transit-oriented development (TOD) zone for the planned stadium stop on Honolulu’s rail system. Affordable housing units are meant to be the key public benefit to be captured through the development incentives of TOD.
To be sure, there are accomplishments of the past lawmaking session that are clear wins for the public interest, and these should not pass unnoticed. A few examples:
>> Senate Bill 159 authorizes automatic voter registration, making the application to vote part of the same process in securing a state ID or a driver’s license. It is a point of pride that, at a time when a swath of mainland state legislatures are acting to curb ballot access, Hawaii has eased the pathway for voters exercising their democratic franchise, while preserving ballot integrity.
>> SB 664 appropriates $330,000 to hire the coordinator and support staff for the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission. This should fuel the transition to a more effective corrections system, one that puts a greater emphasis on rehabilitation and that can conduct independent inspections and investigations into potential wrongdoing.
>> SB 1034 — which enhances the public’s own oversight role — wisely enables the continuation of remote participation in lawmaking hearings once in-person procedures resume, post-pandemic.
COVID-19 brought untold complications to a legislative process darkened by economic uncertainty and rescue funding plans that became moving targets.
But advocates for good government must applaud any measure bringing more Hawaii residents into the state Capitol, in person and virtually. More sunshine gives hope for better laws to come from “the people’s house.”
