House Republican leaders are trying to salvage a special legislative session to override Gov. Ben Cayetano's veto of a campaign spending reform bill, but Democrats are showing little interest in going back into session. House Republicans push
for special sessionBut Democrats do not seem
interested in an override sessionBy Richard Borreca
rborreca@starbulletin.comHouse and Senate Democratic leaders met yesterday to discuss the vetoes but were unable to agree on which of the 49 bills rejected by Cayetano they would want to override.
"It looks like there is a lack of consensus on which bills to go back in for," said Rep. Brian Schatz (D, Manoa), House Democrat whip.
Senate President Robert Bunda (D, Wahiawa-North Shore) said senators also were not in agreement which bills they wanted to override.
But Rep. Galen Fox (R, Waikiki) hopes to generate a groundswell of support to control campaign spending.
"This is something that everybody favored, and the reasons for it are clear. The governor is way off base, because we are trying to stop the practice of dumping money into the pockets of those who award contracts," Fox said.
Fox hopes that he will be able to get his entire 20-person GOP caucus and 14 Democrats to go along with a veto override.
While a simple majority is needed to pass a bill in the Legislature, to override a veto, the House and Senate each need a two-thirds majority vote.
"I didn't think there is a compelling reason for a special session," said Bunda.
The Legislature has until next Tuesday to override bills vetoed by the governor this year, according to the state Constitution.
Senate Vice President Colleen Hanabusa (D, Waianae), however, maintains that Cayetano erred in his veto and that it was technically sent to the Legislature late. To support her argument, Hanabusa found a 2-year-old attorney general's opinion specifying that the way government counts a day does not include the day upon which something is due, which would mean that Cayetano's veto was more than a day late.
"The governor cannot have one standard for himself and another for the Legislature," Hanabusa wrote in a letter to the attorney general.
Cayetano said yesterday he had informally discusses Hanabusa's legal argument with Attorney General Earl Anzai and rejected it.
"If the law were as Sen. Hanabusa claims, we would have 30 or 40 years of vetoes overturned.
"As far as I am concerned, if we submit it before midnight, we are following the law," Cayetano said.
"But sometimes it takes a lot to convince someone they are wrong. If we have to, we will go to the state Supreme Court," Cayetano said.
Hanabusa said yesterday she was considering either asking the court to step in or having the Legislature ask the court, but Bunda rejected that, saying if Hanabusa wanted to take that action, "she can do it as an individual."
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