Sex-age veto stirs Capitol discord

By Kevin Dayton and Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

Support is building at the State Capitol for an effort to override Gov. Ben Cayetano's veto of a bill to raise the age when minors can legally consent to having sex.

Hawai'i's present age of consent is 14, the youngest in the nation, and the bill would have raised the age to 16. In cases where 14- and 15-year-olds have consensual sex with a person who is at least five years older, the bill called for adult offenders to face up to 20 years in prison.

In announcing yesterday that he vetoed the bill, Cayetano said there has been no study in Hawai'i about the issue of consenting sexual relationships between teenagers and adults, and said such a study should be done before new criminal penalties are imposed.

"These crimes that are created by this bill are overly broad, and in some situations may inappropriately bring teenagers and young adults, as both victims and defendants, into the state's criminal justice system," Cayetano said in the message accompanying the veto.

For example, Cayetano said, "a 19-year-old person who exercises poor judgment and engages in consentual activity with a 14-year-old person could be prosecuted and branded as a sex offender for life under this bill."

The veto immediately touched off a firestorm of criticism from nearly all political corners. Republicans accused Cayetano of ignoring community values. Democrats said he was failing to protect children.

If legislators were to override Cayetano's veto, it would be the first in more than 40 years.

The bill appears to be a good candidate for such an override effort because it was unanimously approved in both the House and the Senate. A veto override would require a two-thirds votes in the House and Senate.

The House Human Services and Housing Committee chairman, Mike Kahikina, D-43rd (Barbers Point, Wai'anae, Ma'ili), said he will urge Democrats to support an effort to override the veto.

"It's very disappointing that the governor does not support trying to protect young girls from being victimized," Kahikina said. "We've never done that to the governor before, but in this case we're talking about young children."

Kelly Rosati, executive director of the Hawai'i Family Forum, said she will ask lawmakers to override Cayetano's veto.

"We think it's an affront to all the parents and concerned citizens who demanded action this session to protect Hawai'i's minors from adult sexual predators," Rosati said.

House Republicans pushed for the age-of-consent measure this year, and House Minority Leader Galen Fox said Democrats "have to face up to their collective responsibility to Hawai'i's young people" by moving ahead with an override.

"If they fail to override the governor's veto, they are telling Hawai'i: 'We agree with Gov. Cayetano that it is OK for adults to have sex with 14 and 15 year olds,'" said Fox, R-21st (Waikiki, Ala Wai).

House Vice Speaker Sylvia Luke, D-26th (Punchbowl, Pauoa), said her Democratic colleagues are "seriously looking" at the possibility of a veto override of the sexual consent measure and perhaps other bills. House Speaker Calvin Say was traveling in Asia and unavailable for comment yesterday.

Senate President Robert Bunda, D-22nd (Wahiawa, Waialua, Sunset Beach), said he will poll Senate leaders to see how they feel about an override.

But Senate Majority Leader Cal Kawamoto, D-19th (Waipahu, Pearl City), said he doubts that the Senate would be able to muster the votes for an override.

Honolulu Prosecutor Peter Carlisle criticized early drafts of the bill for some of the same reasons cited by Cayetano, especially that it could impose harsh penalties on people who don't deserve prosecution. Yesterday, he said he understood the reasons for Cayetano's veto and said advocates should have gathered more information about the way other states deal with the problem of adults in sexual relationships with teenagers.

Senate Co-Majority Leader Jonathan Chun, D-7th (S. Kaua'i, Ni'ihau), said most senators are waiting until next week to see what else the governor will veto. Cayetano must notify the Legislature of his intent to veto bills by June 25.

"The general feeling is if there are enough bills that are of concern to majority of the senators, it would be prudent to go ahead and call a special session," he said. "I don't think anybody really wants to do it just for one bill."

Chun said he disagrees with the governor's veto of the age-of-consent bill, as well as the veto of a bill that would have extended unemployment benefits for another six months to former Amfac sugar workers on Kaua'i who are in training or education programs.

Cayetano said in his veto message that the bill would have created a special group of unemployed workers and that the employment security law should be implemented consistently for all unemployed workers.

Other bills Cayetano vetoed include:

• House Bill 503, which would have allowed the Department of Land and Natural Resources to extend or negotiate new leases for agricultural and other purposes. Cayetano said the bill is unnecessary because current law authorizes lease extensions.

• House Bill 645, which would have included first- and second-degree sanctions against someone who intentionally or recklessly hurts a mentally incompetent person. Cayetano said the bill ends up reducing the legal protections for incompetent persons.

• Senate Bill 1473, which would have established a "smart growth" advisory council to implement growth and development strategies to reduce the public costs of growth and preserve the character and productivity of established communities and rural areas.

• House Bill 868, which would have clarified that the military liaison be seated with the Board of Education members during meetings and participate on board matters except executive session.