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With less than a week before bills must be exchanged between both bodies of the state Legislature, the House minority continues its press to debate issues that might not otherwise make it onto the floor. House Dems, GOP
battle over billsLieutenant gov may
again oversee electionsBy Pat Omandam
Star-BulletinThe 19 House Republicans once again used their parliamentary powers to recall bills and force discussion on two political reform bills yesterday -- election recount and campaign contributions.
"We Republicans are only requesting to recall bills that are important to the public," said House Minority Leader Galen Fox (R, Waikiki).
"The House majority has only succeeded in demonstrating to the public that we still have a long way to go to achieve truly open government in Hawaii."
The House majority, which complained yesterday that Republicans violated their Feb. 20 agreement on when and how bills should be recalled, quickly stuffed any chances of those measures advancing in the House.
"I believe in encouraging debate," said Judiciary chairman Eric Hamakawa (D, Hilo). "However, misuse of the recall provision promotes grandstanding instead of statesmanship."
The election reform bill was the first snatched from Hamakawa's committee yesterday. The measure, backed strongly by the minority, requires that unofficial election results be posted outside polling places immediately after they close. It also provides for a recount and audit if an election is won by 1 percent or less, and it removes the state requirement that the heads of precincts be of the same party as the governor.
Republicans say the bill opens up the election process to everyone and instills confidence in the state's tabulation system. It also shows the Office of Elections has nothing to hide, said state Rep. Mark Moses (R, Kapolei).
But Democrats disagreed. State Rep. Willie Espero (D, Ewa Beach) said because of lines, not all polling places close at 6 p.m. He said people waiting to vote at one polling site may be discouraged from voting if they overhear unofficial results of another polling place on the radio.
Majority members said state laws were drafted to ensure a fair election, and Hawaii hasn't had the problems that occurred in Florida. "In my opinion, this is a poorly drafted and ill-conceived bill," Hamakawa said.
The other bill yanked from Hamakawa's committee banned people who made campaign contributions to any candidate or political party from receiving a state or county contract for one year.
Fox said the measure, drafted by the state Campaign Spending Commission, attempts to end a practice not permitted by the federal government and many states.
"This is in fact a corrupt practice," Fox said. "We should end that practice in Hawaii."
Minority Floor Leader David Pendleton (R, Maunawili-Kaneohe) said the bill levels the playing field by letting companies bid on government contracts based on the merits of their proposals and not how much they contributed.
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Saying someone needs to be directly responsible for Hawaii's elections, Senate Vice President Colleen Hanabusa wants to put the lieutenant governor back in charge. Lieutenant gov may
again oversee electionsBy Richard Borreca
Star-BulletinHanabusa, who was also a strong supporter of the unofficial statewide vote recount after the 1998 election, says the current law allows the chief elections official to operate without any direct oversight.
Her bill to switch the elections back to the lieutenant governor is moving through the Senate and is to face a floor vote next week.
"Most likely it will make it out," Hanabusa said.
Her bill moved out of the Senate Judiciary Committee and through the Ways and Means Committee earlier this week with little notice, although both the lieutenant governor's office and the citizen lobbyist group, Common Cause, spoke against it.
Dwayne Yoshina, chief elections officer, who is a civil servant, said he has worked both independently and for several lieutenant governors.
"I worked under both systems and they both have good points and bad points, but to be bounced around every couple years doesn't make for good public policy," he said.
Hanabusa, however, notes that state auditor Marion Higa recommended that clear lines of authority be established for the chief elections officer.
"There is no oversight; there is a quasi-commission that appointed him, but because of the concern we had (of leaving the office with the lieutenant governor), we went to the extreme of having no one," Hanabusa said.
"Now we are left wondering what is going on," she said.
The Election Appointment and Review Panel formally reviewed Yoshina's performance after the 2000 election and recommended that the Legislature appropriate more money for state elections, but the panel did not address the supervision of the chief elections officer.
In a dissenting opinion, however, Warner Kimo Sutton, the panel's vice chairman, said the Legislature should review the process Yoshina used to choose the elections contractor, ES&S.
Saying that because only ES&S made a bid on the contract, "the appearance of an inside deal does not bode well.
After several potential bidders were disqualified because they didn't offer a bond, he said they "were not asked to rebid on the same terms as the ES&S final deal."
Other panel members, chairman Ray Pua and Julie Duldulao, said they thought the election office should remain apart from the lieutenant governor's office.
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