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Editorials
Monday, May 1, 2000

Civil service reform
made little progress

The issue: Governor Cayetano made civil service reform and curtailment of government employee benefits his key proposals for the Legislature.
Our view: Most of the governor's proposals were rejected but he should keep plugging for them.

AT the start of the 2000 legislative session, Governor Cayetano set civil service reform and curtailment of government employee benefits as his main agenda -- putting him in conflict with the public worker unions. With the session ending, the clear winner and still champion is -- the unions!

Organized labor displayed its muscle with expensive newspaper and television messages and a mass rally at the Capitol. The legislators, many of whom owe their election to union support, got the message loud and clear. The result was that most of this Democratic governor's reform proposals were rejected by the Democratic Legislature.

Among the measures that died:

Restoration of the right to strike and abolition of binding arbitration for most public employee unions.

Reduction of sick leave and vacation time from 21 days a year each to 14 days each.
Reorganization of the Public Employees Health Fund to restrain increases in the cost of health benefits.
Elimination of overtime pay in calculating pension benefits.
Elimination of free medical insurance benefits for dependents of state retirees -- to apply to new hires.
Authorization for firing of public workers who fail two drug tests; failure on three tests is now required. However, the Legislature approved pre-employment testing for new employees.
Authorization for the county governments, the University of Hawaii, the Hawaii Health Systems Corp. and the judiciary to negotiate separately with the unions.

One of the governor's few successes in civil service reform was a measure allowing merit pay for managers who are productive and punishment for those who are not.

As a result of the governor's insistence that any new prison built in Hawaii be privately operated, the Legislature came up with a last-minute compromise under which the United Public Workers union could compete against private companies for the right to operate a new prison.

The proposal appeared to be weighted in the union's favor. For example, it gives the UPW the right to work with state officials to create the operational plan for the prison. This could stack the deck against companies interested in the project.

UPW Director Gary Rodrigues said he was confident that the union could win the contract -- precisely what the governor wanted to avoid. Cayetano has complained that restrictions in the current contract tie the state's hands in attempting to improve prison operations.

The Legislature also passed a watered-down version of the educational accountability measure sought by the governor and Schools Superintendent Paul LeMahieu. It takes formation of an accountability system out of collective bargaining but leaves in bargaining the impact on school personnel resulting from the new standards. Whether this will work out is as questionable as the prison measure.

Cayetano still has the 2001 and 2002 sessions to press his ideas for civil service reform before his term expires. We hope he persists in defying the unions. Many of his proposals are urgently needed to make Hawaii government affordable and efficient.

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Big Island drug raids

The issue: A federal undercover operation on the Big Island has resulted in 32 arrests and the seizure of $71,000 worth of illegal drugs.
Our view: The results show that illegal drug use is extensive in East Hawaii and it isn't confined to marijuana.

WHILE the Legislature last week was approving medical use of marijuana, agents of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration were winding up a two-month-long undercover operation on the Big Island.

Thirty-two arrests were made, including a Hawaii County firefighter and a man described as a drug boss. Nine of those arrested face federal drug charges. The others face state charges.

More than $71,000 worth of drugs, including heroin, cocaine, crystal methamphetamine and marijuana, was seized, along with jewelry, vehicles and weapons in what was described as one of the biggest operations on the Big Island since the 1980s.

The DEA official directing the operation said he was surprised by the amount of crystal methamphetamine available in Hilo. Police Lt. Henry Tavares said the undercover operations "exposed the severity of the drug problem in East Hawaii." Different drug dealers were being identified on a daily basis, Tavares said.

At legislative hearings, police officers argued against legalization of marijuana for medical use because of the difficulty of restricting use to medical purposes. Obviously there is a danger of abuse under the pretext of medical needs.

The Hawaii Medical Association also opposed state legalization because it would conflict with federal law and because medical marijuana use has not been approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration.

The effects of marijuana use are still a matter of dispute. Harmful effects were described in an April 21 article on the opposite page by Dr. Kenneth M. Sunamoto, a Hawaii family physician with a special interest in addiction treatment.

A rebuttal by Donald Topping, president of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii, appeared in last Saturday's Insight section.

The Legislature's decision was based on compassion for people suffering extreme pain. It is understandable but questionable nonetheless.

Meanwhile the undercover drug operation on the Big Island indicates that the menace of drug abuse -- including marijuana but so-called hard drugs as well -- continues to be a major problem in that area and probably throughout the state.

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Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited Partnership

Rupert E. Phillips, CEO

John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher

David Shapiro, Managing Editor

Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor

Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors

A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor