Back in 2005, the Legislature should have called in Dr. Phil because the 76-member body turned out to be more of a major enabler than a maker of laws.

Ten years ago, the debate was always about whether Honolulu would get rail, but the law that was passed, House Bill 1309, actually was about allowing the four counties to pay for a public transit system by increasing the general excise tax in their counties.

At least state Rep. Cynthia Thielen, a Kailua Republican, was akamai to say in 2005: "We are the enablers; we absolutely cannot wash our hands of this. We are the first step, the enabling step that is going to allow the city to raise the general excise tax."

The other counties were tossed into the debate just as sweetener to get enough votes in case Oahu legislators balked at allowing the Honolulu City Council to raise the excise tax by 12.5 percent.

Now Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell is asking for more money by trying to change that state law.

He wants the excise tax additions to run either longer or forever.

Surprisingly, a decade ago, hardly anyone was saying the tax increase may not be enough.

Bud Stonebreaker, who was a GOP House member a decade ago, was the only one in floor debate who pointed out, "There’s nothing so permanent as a temporary government program."

Bingo! That is exactly how it turned out.

What nobody said back then is: "What if before they are even finished, they decide they don’t have enough money to finish and they come back to the state asking for more?"

Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz was chairman of the Hono-lulu City Council back in 2005, and he supported raising taxes to build the rail line.

"I voted yes, but that was a vote to pay for construction, not to operate the rail line," Dela Cruz said in an interview this week.

Dela Cruz now says that there needs to be a clear delineation between what the city is supposed to do and what the state will pay for.

Today that is the big issue: Who will pay for what and for how long?

The 2005 vote had Rep. Sylvia Luke voting against the tax increase. Today she still describes herself as "a skeptic."

Luke said Caldwell’s plea earlier in the week for money was "unimpressive," with many lawmakers saying the mayor didn’t have enough details or information in his presentation.

The question for Luke, who has gone from being a House dissident to chairwoman of the agenda-setting House Finance Committee, is figuring out the state’s obligation to rail.

"Do we need to go back and revisit the entire issue of public transportation for all the counties, or is this just a tax extension for Honolulu?" Luke asked in an interview this week.

Asked about state action, Gov. David Ige was more into listening than promising.

"We need to take a step back," Ige said in a Wednesday interview.

In 2005, Ige was one of eight Democrats who voted "with reservations" on the final vote to approve the county tax option.

And Lt. Gov. Shan Tsutsui, a senator back then, voted "No."

So this is not a "Go, Rail, Go" kind of administration.

State leaders lack both motivation and money this year, so watch for Hono-lulu’s rail line to be put on a legislative side track.

Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.