Now I see comparably rough going for the 1997-98 Legislature. Its agenda is emotion-packed and unforgiving. Members won't have enough room to hide their votes in the dark cubbyholes of our two-house system. They need savvy, courageous leaders willing to step on toes to do the right things.
The session will have to produce:
A new financial settlement with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Sloppy 1990 legislation caused this problem. A court has interpreted it to mean the state owes amounts to 50,000 or so 50-percent Hawaiians so vast they could enrage the rest of the population. The repair job will be emotional and will rouse ethnic animosities because it always is tough to take back what seems to have been given.
A same-sex marriage resolution. The matter may be still in the courts during the 1997 session but most voters want a legislated solution short of full acceptance, maybe domestic partnerships. Some want the state Constitution amended to deny same-sex marriage absolutely.
A policy on implementing the Hawaiian plebiscite vote to convene a gathering to consider Hawaiian sovereignty. Who pays? Should the state get into this at all? If not, where will the money come from?
Improved government efficiency demands curbing government unions. We need to spend smarter. Governor Cayetano's meat-axe layoffs in 1995 got the necessary attention but didn't finish the job. It's time for more sophisticated trimming. A near must is to get back from government unions the same management rights enjoyed in the private sector. Privatizing can help, too. Long-term we need an efficiency commission to find ways to trim over-government - but this should not be a 1997-98 cop-out.
A revision of auto insurance that will put consumers first. They now get back in benefits less than half of what they pay in. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners says our auto insurers paid out only 51.6 percent of premiums to policy holders in 1995. A lot of the 48 percent in overhead is wasted in using auto insurance as a civil justice system instead of going no-fault, like the HMSA health plan that pays out over 90 percent. A phony solution proposed this year by Governor Cayetano and the House of Representatives would have done little to cut overhead. Reduced premiums would reflect mostly lower benefits plus pushing health-care costs over to medical insurers, who then would have to raise their fees.
Structuring a 1998 state Constitutional Convention if voters call for one Nov. 5. I used to hope we would approve it. Now I don't. Sovereignty issues need to to be better resolved first and there is too much chance for mischief.
An unafraid decision to stop pandering to "hate profit" groups and recognize that government and business have to be partners to create more investment, jobs and tax revenues. Yes, business has to be regulated in the public interest but we carry it to excess. Government-run economies have failed everywhere.
Underlying all of this should be a strong ethical climate that voters have signaled they want. We need basic openness and honesty from the governor and legislators. Governor Cayetano has been pretty good at it but is all wet on auto insurance, where he holds the benighted view of a former trial lawyer. He has shown courage. We need more of that, too.