Proposed senatorial rules
keep veto power
Suggested state Senate rule changes approved by a panel this week failed to include a recommendation that citizens groups say would reduce the power of conference committee chairmen to block legislation.
The report did not recommend the Senate repeal the so-called veto power held by conference committee chairmen. Senate rules allow chairmen of Senate committees, who serve on a House-Senate conference committee, to unilaterally reject a conference committee bill, even if all other members vote to approve the bill.
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Laure Dillon, executive director of Hawaii Clean Elections, said the report would have been a stronger statement if it recommended removing the chairmen's power.
Dillon, however, said she believes the report as a whole is a "terrific step forward."
"Now it's up to the Senate to follow through on the findings of the report," Dillon said. "It's my sincere hope that the entire Senate makes these recommended changes."
A committee made up of members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate leadership approved the report, which could mean changes in the way bills are decided and preventing technicalities -- like a lack of a signature on a committee report -- from killing a bill.
"I feel that these are critical issues that the whole Senate needs to have discussed if they want to," said Judiciary Chairwoman Colleen Hanabusa (D, Waianae).
Hanabusa said that repealing the veto power would not solve conference committee problems because there are other ways a committee chairman could override the majority committee vote.
But Sen. Les Ihara (D, Kapahulu), who was unsuccessful in getting the recommendation in the report, said: "It's a gross perversion of ... the democratic process. It breaches a fundamental principle that every member has one vote."
Hanabusa said she is not sure if the report will result in any changes, but the process -- two previous hearings along with Monday's report -- allowed the public to weigh in for the first time on what kinds of rules they would like the Senate to change.
The report will be sent to each senator. Any senator could introduce a measure to change the rules.
"The value of this report is that for the first time you've ever seen any legislative body open up internal procedures to the public," Hanabusa said. "What it's done is it's opened up the process so people know how we make a decision."
