Editorials
Thursday, January 16, 1997

Speaker sets agenda
for ambitious session

SPEAKER Joe Souki had the proverbial good news/bad news in his opening day speech to the 1997 Legislature yesterday. First, the upside: House leadership seems to have finally acknowledged that real action must be taken on several compelling matters.

Promising points of Souki's action plan include:

Reforming the far-from-perfect no-fault insurance system, workers' compensation laws and the high-three retirement plan for legislators.

Proposing that Board of Education members be appointed rather than elected so that the governor can be held accountable for the quality of public schools. Also, seriously contemplating the benefits of removing principals and vice principals from collective bargaining.

Increasing prison space by innovative and cost-effective means, including erecting tent-type structures and utilizing inmate labor to build the facilities. Also on the agenda, getting tough on juvenile repeat offenders.

Clarifying and acting on the issue of money due to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and accelerating payments to the Department of Hawaiian Homelands.

Dealing early in the session with the emotional topic of same-gender marriage.

In the age of McDeliveries, requiring a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for a mother and her newborn.

Amid such optimistic goals, Souki dropped the bomb. With a state budgetary shortfall projected at more than $170 million, the Legislature may have to resort to a favorite tactic for balancing the books. "I cannot absolutely nor responsibly promise no new taxes," Souki said. He hopes, though, that the newly sworn-in lawmakers and Governor Cayetano's administration can work together to tame the budget without hiking the unpopular T-word.

Souki joked that his 1997 address may have sounded to some like his "retirement speech." If he and rest of the House fail to deliver on their early promises, and increase taxes to boot, it definitely may be.

Combining services

ELIMINATING duplication of county and state functions is a worthwhile objective, and Mayor Harris' proposal to consolidate road and park maintenance and other services makes some sense. The mayor's method of adjusting county and state tax revenues to accommodate the restructuring, however, should be closely examined by state legislators.

Hebron agreement

WITH prodding from Washington, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has put the peace process back on track by signing an agreement to withdraw troops from Hebron and rural areas of the West Bank. Netanyahu has thus abandoned his pledge never to cede to the Palestinians an area many Israelis regard as their ancestral homeland, and has embraced a peace plan favored by all but the most militant elements of Israel. The Clinton administration's involvement commits it to ensuring compliance with the pact.



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