Cayetano veto window
cleared by state
Supreme Court
The state Supreme Court has ruled that former Gov. Ben Cayetano met the constitutionally required notice to lawmakers on his veto of 13 bills during the 2002 session.
CORRECTION
Tuesday, June 29, 2004State Sen. Colleen Hanabusa is chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and majority leader. She was Senate vice president in 2002 when she filed suit against then-Gov. Ben Cayetano over a veto issue. A story on Page A2 in yesterday's early edition incorrectly said she is Senate vice president.
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Gov. Linda Lingle took no chances on the disputed deadline, and issued lawmakers notice on Friday of her intention to veto 28 bills, apparently a day or two sooner than required.
"We had, in waiting for this decision, been more conservative to our advice to the governor," said Attorney General Mark Bennett. "According to this decision, we can in the future perhaps be a little less conservative."
Senate Vice President Colleen Hanabusa (D, Nanakuli-Makua) had filed a lawsuit, contending that Cayetano only gave lawmakers nine days and a few hours' notice of his intention to veto the bills, not the "10 days' notice" required in the Constitution.
Circuit Judge Virginia Crandall backed Cayetano in September 2002, ruling in a summary judgment that when there is more than one meaning in a constitutional provision, it is legislative history that must be considered.
In her lawsuit, Hanabusa pointed to an August 2000 special legislative session called after Attorney General Earl Anzai advised lawmakers they had failed to give the governor the required 10 days' notice before approving a proposed constitutional amendment. It prompted a two-day extension of the session.
The same 10 days' notice definition should apply to the governor's veto message, Hanabusa argued.
Cayetano insisted at the time he was only following the same practice as the past three governors, and agreed with Crandall's ruling.
The vetoed bills included a $75 million tax credit for an aquarium at Ko Olina in West Oahu, a 4 percent tax credit worth millions of dollars for various commercial construction projects, rent relief for airport concessionaires and campaign finance reform.
When she appealed Crandall's summary judgment in favor of Cayetano, Ko Olina Lagoon Estates joined in the appeal.
Hanabusa additionally argued that the House and Senate clerks had improperly accepted the bills at the time of Cayetano's notification of his intent to reject them, also violating the Constitution.
The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the "plain language" of the Constitution requires the governor to give notice at any time before midnight on the 10th day prior to the 45th day after the Legislature adjourns and to return the bills he or she intends to veto no later than the 45th day after adjournment.
Hanabusa had maintained that because "a day is a 24-hour period of time or a 'solar day,'" and the use of the apostrophe at the end of "days" in "10 days' notice," it showed the intent of the drafters of the notice was to be of 10 full days, not nine days and a part of the 10th day.
The high court agreed with Crandall that the Constitution only requires the governor to give notice "on or before the 10th day" prior to the 45th day after the adjournment.
