Hurricane-resistance help fails with veto

By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

Gov. Ben Cayetano has vetoed a $2 million program that would have helped homeowners pay the cost of making their homes more hurricane-resistant.

Also rejected was a bill that would have reduced the minimum fine for illegally parking in stalls reserved for the handicapped. And Cayetano used a line-item veto against the transfer of $25 million from several special funds to help balance the budget.

They were among more than 30 vetoes announced by the governor's office yesterday, three days before Monday's veto deadline. The vetoes were made Thursday, the office said.

Under a newly created Loss Mitigation Grant Fund, homeowners would have been reimbursed 50 percent of the cost of installing wind-resistive devices, up to a maximum $2,100 per home. But Cayetano used a line-item veto against a portion of Senate Bill 706 that would have appropriated $2 million to the program.

National Weather Service officials have said they expect six to seven tropical cyclones in the central Pacific this hurricane season, and the storms could include hurricanes that might affect Hawai'i.

In his veto message to lawmakers, Cayetano said he objected to the grant program because the grants would have been available only in the first year to former policyholders of the Hawai'i Hurricane Relief Fund.

"I believe that if grants were to be awarded, all property owners should be eligible, because there does not appear to be a logical reason to limit the grants to former HHRF policyholders," Cayetano said. "The HHRF policyholders have already benefited from paying their HHRF premiums, because they received the coverage they paid for."

The governor also said a relatively small number of property owners would benefit from the program because the $2 million appropriation would pay for the administrative costs of running the program in addition to the grants.

"Even if I were to assume that no administrative costs would be deducted from the $2 million appropriation, based on the maximum grant of $2,100 per property owner, only 952 grants could be made in the first year," the governor said.

Cayetano left intact the second portion of the bill that transfers $29 million from the Hurricane Relief Fund into the general fund. Cayetano had wanted to spend all of the $213 million surplus in the hurricane fund to balance the budget.

Gerald Peters of the Hurricane Mitigation Ad Hoc Task Force said the veto "cannot be rationalized on substantive ground."

"The governor can say it doesn't help enough families, but what comes first, the chicken or the egg?" he said, adding that the program would have helped more families because the average grant would have amounted to about $1,000. "These people need the help and the help is being taken away. It's not right."

With the veto, Peters said, "you end up having a raid and no help to solve the problem, which further perpetuates the basic problem from (Hurricane) Iniki." Hurricane Iniki, which hit Hawai'i in 1992, caused an estimated $2 billion in damage and prompted insurance companies to temporarily stop offering wind-damage coverage.

The governor also trimmed $25 million from the approximately $140 million lawmakers wanted to siphon from special and revolving funds to help balance the budget. The $25 million includes $11 million restored to the Dwelling Unit Revolving Fund and $7 million to the Compliance Resolution Fund.

Cayetano said transferring the larger amounts out of the funds would have crippled the programs they support.

Other vetoes include:

• House Bill 2509, which started out as a measure to strengthen handicapped parking laws but wound up reducing the minimum fine for handicapped parking violations from $250 to $100. Rep. Joe Souki, D-8th (Waiehu, Ma'alaea, Napili), who was a member of the conference committee that unanimously voted to lower the fine, had said lawmakers thought $250 was "excessive" and that judges should be given more discretion.

But Cayetano said in his veto message: "The reduction in minimum fines for violations of the parking for disabled persons law minimizes the deterrent effect of the fines and was made without public comment or input."

• House Bill 2072, which would have appropriated $1 million from the Emergency and Budget Reserve Fund for housing assistance to those who may have been affected by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Cayetano said recent unemployment data makes it difficult to justify the need for the program.

• House Bill 2843, which would have called for several election changes, including requiring special elections to be conducted by mail and requiring ballot recounts in close elections. Cayetano said the bill did not allow enough time to conduct the required recounts and could deny overseas citizens an opportunity to vote by absentee ballot.

• Senate Bill 859, which would have allowed inmates to earn reductions in their minimum prison terms by making progress in several areas: work and vocational training, social adjustment, counseling, self-help, therapeutic, educational and literacy programs. Cayetano said the Hawaii Paroling Authority already has the power to reduce minimum prison terms for inmates who have shown progress in rehabilitation.

• Senate Bill 552, which would have appropriated $5,000 to help establish a Korean War museum. Cayetano said there are too many uncertainties about the project.

• Senate Bill 2900, which would have continued the emergency environmental work force program created to provide environmental work to those laid off after Sept. 11. Cayetano noted improved unemployment data and said the program was meant to be short-term.

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8070.