Posted on: Wednesday, January 15, 2003

EDITORIAL
New legislature faces uncertainty, challenge

A combination of optimism and uncertainty flavors the 2003 session of the state Legislature, which convenes today for its annual session.

Both the optimism and the uncertainty have their roots in the new political atmosphere at the Capitol. For the first time in four decades, a Republican administration will be in place to work with a Democratic-controlled Legislature.

There's optimism, because many hope and expect that the new administration of Gov. Linda Lingle will bring fresh ideas and new approaches to old problems.

And there is uncertainty, because this new administration is something of an unknown entity. Just what will a Republican administration propose and how will it approach the Legislature? Lingle is known from her years on the Maui council and as Maui mayor, but most lawmakers have had little direct interaction with her.

Our hope is that — to the degree possible — the Democrats give Lingle and her team a chance to set their own agenda and see it move forward.

The voters endorsed Lingle's theme of "change," and lawmakers, while they have their own ideas and responsibilities, owe it to the voters to let that change agenda play out.

Specifically, it is imperative that the Senate give Lingle's Cabinet and other appointments a thorough but swift and efficient hearing. The confirmation process must not be allowed to drag out through much of the session.

On specific issues, we urge this Legislature to focus, as it has for the past several years, on two primary issues: education and the economy.

Our schools need more money, our school administrators need more autonomy and our teachers need to be given the flexibility and assets they need to do their job as they see fit within the classroom.

With the No Child Left Behind federal education law, lawmakers will have to be particularly sensitive to the extra needs and demands that will be placed on schools that are failing to meet state standards. To do otherwise is to cede control of our public schools to Washington, something no legislator should want.

There will be time for debate over governance, but this debate should not be allowed to distract from the many more immediate challenges facing our schools.

On the economy, Lingle will have a broad list of changes she wishes to make this state more business-friendly. These ideas deserve a fair hearing; it won't be enough to discard these new approaches simply because "that's not the way we have done it around here."

But legislators must also keep in mind the fact that the same package of labor, environmental and business laws and regulations that come in for so much criticism have their positive side.

Hawai'i has a reputation as being a place that is fiercely protective of its environment and steadily supportive of the working man and woman. We cannot discard that reputation in the name of improving our business reputation. Balance will be the key word here.

Underlying these and other issues will be the imposing task of balancing a state budget that faces the prospect of considerable red ink. This is an area where partisanship should take a back seat to true cooperative work between Legislature and administration on achieving efficiencies, reducing unnecessary costs and ferreting out resources that might have been overlooked.

And as always, we urge this Legislature to keep its agenda simple and focused. It is far better to take on a handful of tough issues and resolve them successfully than to spend endless hours in fruitless attempts to solve every problem everywhere.

Good luck.