Legislature overrides veto of age-of-consent bill
By Lynda Arakawa and Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
For the first time since 1957, the Legislature yesterday overrode a veto by the governor and established a law that bans sex between adults and young teens.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
The House voted 48-0, with three members absent, to override the veto. The Senate voted 23-1 to overturn the veto, with one member absent.
House Minority Whip Paul Whalen and House Vice Speaker Sylvia Luke emerge from a caucus in good spirits.
Two-thirds approval by both the House and Senate were required to nullify Gov. Ben Cayetano's veto. The new law makes it illegal for 14- or 15-year-olds to have sex with adults who are at least five years older.
The last time a governor's veto was overridden was 44 years ago, when lawmakers reversed territorial Gov. Samuel Wilder King's veto of a tax measure.
Several legislators said yesterday's vote was significant not only because it salvaged the age-of-consent bill but also because it demonstrated the ability of the legislative branch of government to hold the executive branch in check.
"I believe that this veto override today will forever change our government culture," said Rep. Chris Halford, R-11th (South Maui, K«okea, Kihei). "This is a great day."
Cayetano, who called yesterday's action "pure politics," said he had vetoed the bill because it could unreasonably result in teenagers' facing a sex charge that carried a heavy penalty.
That set off a firestorm of criticism from Democrats and especially Republicans, who said the veto amounted to giving protection to child molesters and sexual predators.
But others, including prosecutors and some women's advocacy groups, agreed with Cayetano's complaints that the bill was poorly written and too hard to enforce and that its penalties were too severe.
Dissenting vote
Sen. Les Ihara, D-10th (Waikiki, Kaimuki), the only legislator to vote against overriding the veto, cited those complaints, saying it makes the penalty for consensual sex — up to 20 years in prison — equal to or more than the punishment for rape.
Sen. Ron Menor, D-18th (Waipi'o Gentry, Wahiawa), said he reluctantly voted to override the veto and noted "there may be significant and serious flaws in the measure."
"However, I recognize that this bill is an attempt to respond to an issue of major public concern," he said.
Senate Majority Co-Leader Jonathan Chun, D-7th (S. Kaua'i, Ni'ihau), who was the force behind the Senate effort to override the veto, said that while the new law is not perfect, "the current law is flawed (because it) allows older adults to prey upon our younger children with no penalty involved, with no sanction, with no regard for the impact such action has on their young lives."
Senate Minority Leader Sam Slom, R-8th (Wai'alae Iki, Hawai'i Kai), also said: "The biggest flaw would be to do nothing."
House and Senate leaders said they felt an urgency to act on the veto now rather than wait for the 2002 session because of overwhelming public support for overriding the veto.
Rep. Joseph Souki, D-8th (Waiehu, Ma'alaea, Napili), said he agreed that the age for consensual sex should be raised, but he questioned the wisdom of making those who violate the law guilty of a Class A felony.
"After all, this is young people who are in the heat of love and the moral is they get into a sexual situation that can put them in jail for 20 years," Souki said. "I think for consensual sex, that's much too heavy."
"I believe my mother got married when she was 15, my mother-in-law when she was 14. Maybe if my mother was alive, my father would go to jail," Souki said. (The new law exempts married couples.)
Child priorities
Rep. Dennis Arakaki, D-28th (Kalihi Valley, Kamehameha Heights), said that as the father of three daughters, he favored the bill. But he said he was troubled that other important child-welfare bills vetoed in the past were not considered for overrides. "I think we need to look at where our priorities are, not just move by what the public sentiment is but what our real concerns are for our children," Arakaki said.
Senate Majority Co-Leader Cal Kawamoto, D-19th (Waipahu, Pearl City), unsuccessfully tried to get the Senate to override Cayetano's veto of a bill that would have reduced animal quarantine fees for some military people. Senators voted 16-7, one vote shy of the required two-thirds.
The one-day special session, which lasted a little more than an hour, cost the Senate $1,260 and the House $1,400 in per diem and Neighbor Island travel payments.
