 By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Capitol Bureau Chief
Bickering between Republicans and Democrats stopped the state House cold Thursday and yesterday after Republicans used a series of floor maneuvers to stall action on more than 100 bills.
The House was unable to work through its agendas for Thursday and yesterday, and is not scheduled to meet again until Tuesday morning.
The Republicans were protesting the floor maneuvers Democrats used on Tuesday, when the Democrats used a House rule to block debate on a bill to prohibit sex between minors and adults who are at least five years older.
Rep. Cynthia Thielen, R-49th (Kailua, Kane‘ohe Bay Drive), said Republicans will stall the session for months if needed to get Democrats to agree on floor debates and roll call votes on certain bills.
"We’re talking about democracy, and we’re not willing to let them run roughshod over the (state) constitution," she said.
The 19 House Republicans want to use their votes to yank or "recall" selected measures out of House committees where they are being stalled or killed. The idea is to force floor debates and roll-call votes on those bills.
The constitution allows bills to be yanked from committee if a third of the House agrees. The 19 Republicans have more than enough votes, but the Democrats have immediately used their 32 votes to table the bills or send them back to committee without discussion.
The Republicans contend the Democrats are using House rules to undermine a clause in the state constitution.
The Democrats said their rules allow them to block debate on the bills, and said they want the bills to progress through the Democrat-controlled committees in the ordinary fashion.
House Speaker Calvin Say, D-18th (Palolo, St. Louis, Kaimuki) said the Democrats offered to allow limited public debate on the bills with no floor votes, but the Republicans refused.
Squabbling on the House floor dragged on from Thursday evening until 2:30 yesterday morning, and resumed yesterday afternoon.
House leaders from each party met in closed negotiating sessions yesterday to try to resolve the dispute, but failed.
"They feel that they’re embarrassing me," Say said of the parliamentary maneuvering on the floor. "I don’t mind, but the bigger picture is we’re not getting the work done with their shenanigans."
The dispute may get uglier next week. House Majority Leader Marcus Oshiro said Democrats are prepared to use their votes and House rules to cut off actions that are deemed to be "obstructionist," possibly by refusing to recognize the Republicans.
"We don’t want to stifle legitimate debate on bills up for passage," said Oshiro, D-40th (Wahiawa, Whitmore). "But we will no longer tolerate deliberate attempts to delay or discredit the hard work of many good legislators."
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