Lingle criticizes Linda Lingle, Republican candidate for governor, says Democratic Gov. Ben Cayetano hurt the economic future of the Leeward Coast and Waianae in particular when he vetoed a $75 million tax credit bill to spur construction of an aquarium and resort complex at Ko Olina.
Ko Olina veto
She says the measure and
Notice insufficient, Hanabusa says
another to reform campaign
finances deserved signaturesBy Richard Borreca
rborreca@starbulletin.comTwo of the three major Democratic candidates for governor also say they would not have vetoed the measure. But Rep. Ed Case (D, Manoa), who voted against it, said as governor he also would have vetoed it.
Cayetano vetoed it Monday, saying it was too narrowly focused and that the bill could be amended next year.
"It wasn't a deep disagreement he had," Lingle said. "It seemed almost superficial. But it was so significant, if you don't feel emotion and sympathy for this area, then you shouldn't be in a public position. If you had eight years to do something about this area (Waianae) and you didn't, maybe you should have a different career."
Lingle also said if she were governor, she would have not vetoed the campaign spending reform bill that Cayetano rejected.
The bill would have stopped money going from contractors and others doing business with the state to executives such as governors and mayors, but exempted legislators.
"It is not a bad bill. I don't think it would have accomplished what they think it would, but it wasn't objectionable," Lingle said.
She is urging the Legislature to override both of Cayetano's vetoes.
Case said that if the aim of the bill was to help the construction industry, it would be better to just lower taxes across the board instead of singling out a specific area such as Waianae for help.
"I do believe the Waianae Coast needs an economic boost, but lots of other areas of the state do also," Case said.
Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono, who along with Case and D.G. "Andy" Anderson is in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, said if she were governor, she would have allowed both bills to become law, but she said the Legislature does not need to come back into session to override the vetoes.
"The Legislature did a lot of other good things, and these bills can be addressed next year," she said.
Anderson said that if he were governor, he would have signed both bills.
"I would have signed the campaign spending bill without question. The corruption and controversy is happening at the administrator level, and I think he should be faulted for not signing it," Anderson said.
Case and Hirono agreed, saying the campaign spending bill would be important and that any needed additions could be made next year.
Cayetano issued a news release yesterday complaining that Lingle "still hasn't gotten over her 1998 loss to me.
"She lost to me because the voters found out that while she was quick to criticize, she had no plan and no vision for Hawaii's future," Cayetano said.
Lingle responded that "while having a vision for the state is critically important, it is almost as important for someone to get a handle on the operation that, if it is mismanaged, they will have enough understanding, ability and passion to get into the departments."
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State Sen. Colleen Hanabusa, making calculations based on the Constitution, contends that Gov. Ben Cayetano vetoed some major measures after the deadline. Hanabusa says gov failed
to give proper veto noticeBy Crystal Kua
ckua@starbulletin.com"I believe that the governor has missed his deadline by at least five hours and 15 minutes," said Hanabusa (D, Waianae), who also is an attorney, in a letter to Attorney General Earl Anzai.
As a result, she says, the Legislature did not get proper 10-day notice of the vetoes.
"The Constitution requires that the governor by proclamation must have given the Legislature '10 days notice.' We did not receive 10 days' notice," wrote Hanabusa, a leading proponent of reviving the vetoed $75 million Ko Olina Resort tax credit bill.
All bills not vetoed Monday will become law with or without the governor's signature.
The Ko Olina tax credits bill, among 13 bills vetoed Monday by the governor, would have allowed construction of a resort complex of hotels including a world-class aquarium, a mammal training center and sports facilities.
The governor is required by law to give the Legislature notice of the vetoes no later than 35 days after the end of the regular legislative session, or June 24 this year.
If the Legislature decides to hold a special session to override the vetoes, it must convene no later than noon on the 45th day following the end of the regular session -- in this case, July 9, Hanabusa said.
"This would require that the 10 days of notice begin no later than noon on the 35th day," Hanabusa wrote.
But the veto proclamation was not received by the Senate clerk until 5:15 p.m., according to Hanabusa's letter.
So Hanabusa is asking Anzai for an opinion on whether Cayetano complied with the 10-day constitutional notice in issuing his veto after noon on Monday instead of in the morning.
The governor could not be reached for comment.
But governors in the past have used midnight of the 35th day as the veto deadline.
Hanabusa is one of those exploring the option of a special session to override the vetoes.
In the letter, she anticipated that the attorney general may say that a full day's notice is not necessary, an argument with which she disagrees.