Hanabusa presses veto issue
By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Staff Writer
State Sen. Colleen Hanabusa yesterday urged a state judge to invalidate Gov. Ben Cayetano's vetoes on 13 bills, arguing that he didn't give the state Legislature the full 10 days' notice of his actions as required by the state constitution.
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A state lawyer, however, said Cayetano was following the practice of previous governors, and even if Cayetano violated the law, state lawmakers still had enough time to overturn the vetoes if that's what they wanted to do.
State Sen. Colleen Hanabusa wants Gov. Ben Cayetano's vetoes rendered invalid.
After listening to the arguments, Circuit Judge Virginia Crandall indicated she will issue a ruling later, but did not say when.
Hanabusa, D-21st (Barbers Point, Makaha), the senate vice president, filed the legal challenge in circuit court after the Hawai'i Supreme Court earlier this year declined to hear the case.
The bills included a $75 million tax break for an aquarium project at Ko Olina resort, a 4 percent tax credit for commercial construction, a campaign finance reform measure and rent relief for airport concessionaires. Hanabusa had lobbied heavily for the Ko Olina bill.
Under state law, the governor is given 45 working days after the end of the legislative session to consider bills and must give the Legislature 10 days' notice of any bills to be vetoed. The Legislature must convene before noon on the 45th day to override any vetoes.
Cayetano gave lawmakers notice at 5:15 p.m. on the 35th day. Hanabusa said to give a full 10 days' notice he would have had to deliver the notice by noon on the 34th day.
As a result, "the veto did not occur and all 13 of these bills are now law," she said.
Deputy Attorney General John Dellera called Hanabusa's interpretation of the law an "overly literal and technical interpretation of the language."
According to Dellera, the issue is whether the notice given was timely. While he argued that Cayetano complied with the law, he added that even if he did miss the deadline, lawmakers were not injured by missing one day. "All they had to do during that time was decide if they were going to reconvene," he said.
He also pointed out that 16 times over the past 24 years, three governors have given notice on the 35th day. "In the past 24 years, no one raised this issue."
Other vetoed bills would have given an $8 million construction appropriation to the Japanese Cultural Center and used general obligation bonds to provide $6 million for the Upcountry Maui watershed project, $5 million for a grant to the Waikiki Health Center and $2.95 million for the Hawai'i Island Veterans Memorial in Hilo. Cayetano also vetoed a bill that would have taken $5 million from the Hawai'i Tourism Authority.
Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
