City Council Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi is questioning the authority of Mayor Jeremy Harris to use his line-item veto powers to take out language inserted into the city budget. Budget chair challenges
Harris’ line-item vetoesBy Gordon Y.K. Pang
gpang@starbulletin.comHarris returned the $455 million capital improvements budget last Friday signed but only after deleting key conditional language that the Council attached to several projects. The language, the mayor said, makes it tougher to build a tennis complex at Central Oahu Regional Park and expand the HPOWER plant.
Kobayashi said yesterday she has asked Council analysts to research the issue to see if Harris has the legal authority to line-item veto language, and not an entire appropriation, in a budget document.
The analysts have tried to find precedence in municipalities along the West Coast to date, and found "that really hasn't been done in other jurisdictions," she said. "Now they're checking in the Midwest."
Harris spokeswoman Carol Costa said city attorneys with the Department of the Corporation Counsel advised the mayor that he could "legally veto the provisos."
Costa noted that city attorneys helped Harris draft the veto message.
Meanwhile, Kobayashi said she is attempting to round up the votes for an override of Harris' vetoes.
Of particular concern, she said, is language requiring the administration to conduct a study on alternative means of solid waste disposal before embarking on construction of a scheduled $6 million expansion of HPOWER.
Harris said the study can be done while the expansion of the waste-to-energy facility occurs.
But Kobayashi said the waste-to-energy plant will no longer be needed under some of the alternate waste solutions that have been brought before the Council.
Under the City Charter, the nine-member Council can override any or all of the items vetoed in the period between five and 30 days after the veto.
At least two members of the Council have already indicated they do not plan to support an override, meaning only two of their colleagues need to join them for Harris to stave off any attempted override.
Kobayashi acknowledged that the votes will likely be close.
The last time a mayor used veto powers was in 1992 when former Mayor Frank Fasi vetoed the budget. The Council overrode the veto.
Harris signed the $1.12 billion operating budget for the 2003 fiscal year into law last week but chastised the Council for some of its actions.
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