Editorials

[ OUR OPINION ]

Rules surrender voters’
will to a few lawmakers

THE ISSUE Legislative practices give committee chairmen too much power.

STATE lawmakers took a small step forward this week, weakening rules that had delivered near-dictatorial powers to leaders of conference committees and allowing them to determine which measures are killed or passed out for a floor vote despite the will of other members. The procedure was unfair and undermined the legislative process.

The rules had given chairmen of conference committees singular control over bills, often against the will of other lawmakers and, more importantly, against the will of the people. A bipartisan group of House and Senate members was able to muster enough votes to pass resolutions to change that, but committee leaders still wield inordinate power.

Under the new rules, if a majority of chairmen from each chamber and a majority of the quorum of the committee agree, a final draft of a bill may be cleared for a vote. Although committee members gain some muscle, chairmen remain in disproportionate control of legislation.

Operational procedures lawmakers adopt similarly restrict proper discussion and debate on measures and skew the legislative process. Leaders of standing committees by themselves can halt bills in their tracks. Earlier in the session, Sen. David Matsuura, chairman of the Health Committee, mulishly refused to clear a bill allowing physician-assisted death. House Judiciary Chairman Eric Hamakawa blocked movement on a Senate-passed bill that would have made cockfighting a felony.

The issue in these standing committees is magnified when a measure does pass both houses and moves to conference committees for final work. At this stage, the bill has cleared a number of legislative hurdles and is more than likely considered important enough for earnest consideration. However, the rules had allowed a chairman to veto a bill even if others on the committee disagreed.

That's why Democratic Reps. Ed Case and Les Ihara, along with Rep. Galen Fox and Sen. Sam Slom, both Republicans, sought to undo the rule, which was established last year. As an example of the rule's unfairness, Case, a gubernatorial candidate, pointed to campaign reform bills in the 2001 session that moved quickly through the process, only to be bottled up because a conference committee chairman did not agree with them. This year, Case and others had feared that a bill to cap gasoline prices in Hawaii would have faced the same fate if oil company lobbyists could sway a panel's leader.

The changes loosen a chairman's grip, but still cede far too much power to one legislator. As Slom said, "It's not right. It's not fair."

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Published by Oahu Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Black Press.

Don Kendall, Publisher

Frank Bridgewater, Editor 529-4791; fbridgewater@starbulletin.com
Michael Rovner, Assistant Editor 529-4768; mrovner@starbulletin.com
Lucy Young-Oda, Assistant Editor 529-4762; lyoungoda@starbulletin.com

Mary Poole, Editorial Page Editor, 529-4790; mpoole@starbulletin.com
John Flanagan, Contributing Editor 294-3533; jflanagan@starbulletin.com

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