With 12 days remaining before the 2001 Legislature is scheduled to adjourn on May 3, Gov. Ben Cayetano this week has registered his first vetoes of the session. Cayetano vetoes
Senate bill on interisland
vehicle shipmentsBy Pat Omandam
Star-BulletinThe governor rejected a Senate bill on interisland vehicle transfers that would eliminate the need for a car's registered owner to obtain written consent of a car's legal owner, usually a bank, before shipping the car between islands.
The governor said the current law has been effective in reducing interisland shipment of stolen vehicles and that the proposed law does not offset this.
Cayetano also returned a House bill that requires the state to certify motorcycle operator education programs in Hawaii run by the U.S. armed services.
"This bill is objectionable because it is unnecessary and may result in undesirable inconsistencies with current efforts of the state Department of Transportation in this area," Cayetano's veto message said.
The Legislature could override the vetoes in a special session with two-thirds majority support in both chambers. But don't count on it.
In other news this week at the state Capitol:
>> Back to school: Members of the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly agreed to a new contract after 13 days on strike.
UHPA officials praised the settlement as a good one. Students returned to classes on Thursday.
As of yesterday, negotiators from the Hawaii State Teacher Association and the state continue their late-night talks in hopes of getting children back to public school.
Earlier this week, both sides agreed to postpone discussion on health-benefit payments to teachers on strike.
Cayetano said yesterday he was optimistic about a settlement this weekend.
>> Chairman rules: Advocacy groups, House Republicans and some Senate Democrats are protesting changes in conference committee rules that let any of the co-chairmen of a committee kill a bill even though other conference members may favor moving it forward. House and Senate leaders agreed to the changes, which are a step back from last year's effort that opened up conference committee votes to the public.
"We strongly protest this 'agreement' as unfair, undemocratic, illegal and usurpation of power away from a majority," said George Fox, president of Advocates for Consumer Rights.
>> Akiba heads Democrats: The Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Hawaii chose 44-year-old Lorraine Akiba to succeed 74-year-old Walter Heen, who did not seek re-election as party chairman.
The partisan politics began a few days later when Hawaii Republican leaders criticized Akiba, an attorney and former state labor director, as anti-business, an allegation she said is not true and attributes to politics.
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