The state Capitol was a whirlwind of activity this year, not all of it in the clear view of the public. When the dust finally cleared Thursday after the session, and the scoresheet finally could be completed, the news wasn’t too bad. A "B minus" might be a fair grade, especially if you grade on a curve — the 2011 session providing one of the low ebbs.
Aided by a rebound in tax revenues, the 2012 Legislature was able to bolster the state’s social and health systems that took some hits in the recession. Lawmakers crossed some important tasks off the to-do list and even showed some spine in making difficult calls in politically sensitive areas. Then there was an "F" grade or two, and those clearly drove down the GPA.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie, for his part, was much more effective this session, underscoring more of his priorities with personal appearances and the help of a team that included legislative veterans such as Kate Stanley and Blake Oshiro.
That said, it was disconcerting to see some elements, even if they ultimately failed, given a place on the agenda, particularly bills that sought to speed priority projects at the expense of environmental review and public scrutiny. If lawmakers and the administration believe that some processes needlessly slow development — and that case can be made easily — a thoughtful, comprehensive reform would yield better economic results for the long term than creating special cases for select projects.
Unpacking this legislative mixed bag, the pluses are more readily apparent:
» Community concerns about constructing an interisland cable linking electric utility grids are years from resolution. But creating the regulatory framework for such a system is a critical first step, and this year lawmakers took it.
» A settlement of past debts owed to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs was finally hammered out. The $200 million deal comprises some valuable waterfront property in Kakaako, and care was taken to ensure that the ban on residential development in that area remained.
» On education, the state has set a process in motion to create a better early-learning network, first ensuring that the existing junior kindergarten system remains while its replacement is being developed. Also successful were steps to restructure the charter schools system, making lines of accountability clearer.
» The "justice reinvention" legislation passed this year should help the state accommodate more of its prison population in the islands rather than in mainland facilities, in part by expanding the capacity of community-based programs that could keep more people out of prison to begin with.
» Legislators showed some fiscal restraint, even when patching over some budget shortfalls. The $11.6 million allotment to nonprofit agencies and the $25 million for school buses were measured attempts to strike a balance between meeting social demands and keeping a lid on expenditures. The economy is recovering, but Hawaii isn’t exactly flush with cash.
The long arm-wrestling match between the House and Senate over the capital improvements budget ended with the upper chamber getting most of what it wanted: $430 million in construction work meant to boost the economy.
Here’s where a few of the negatives come into focus:
» Because lawmakers decided to make such a generous investment in CIP, the public will be on the hook for debt service more than should have been necessary.
» One example of fiscal negligence: The Legislature has not replenished the state’s rainy-day and hurricane funds that had been raided during last year’s budget crisis. Doing so might have reinforced the state’s credit rating — a wise thing to do.
» Similarly, this would have been a good year to pay down the unfunded liability for the state’s retirees’ health benefits. Procrastinating on that responsibility amounts to ignoring a ticking time bomb.
Finally and on several fronts, lawmakers gave short shrift to open-government concerns.
The new nonprofit Hawaii Health Connector health insurance exchange will not be accountable to principles of open government. Bills were resurrected by slapping language from one measure into another, a routine known as "gut and replace" that makes it all but impossible for the public to follow what’s going on. In a generally productive lawmaking session, these are distressing developments, and one that the public should remember in the coming elections.
