By Jerry Burris
Advertiser Editorial Editor

Most of the talk around Gov. Linda Lingle's near-record sweep of vetoes, and line-item vetoes in the budget, centers on money.

In many cases, Lingle said, she vetoed a proposal because the state is facing tighter financial times and cannot afford the proposal. Other vetoes were for technical reasons — a flaw in drafting that needs repairs before the idea can become law.

But in many cases, the vetoes appear to reflect an emerging tug of war between Republican Lingle and the Democrats who control the Legislature over who sets policy in this state.

It is this policy struggle that lies at the heart of unusual levels of anger in the Legislature over the vetoes and is what propels talk of a special override session.

Lingle clearly believes that it is the governor who should set basic policy for the state. It is equally apparent that lawmakers are not going to cede this power to Lingle without a fight.

Hawai'i has long had a strong governor. The governor has enormous powers to appoint, dictate policy, set priorities and run things as deemed fit.

What is happening now is an effort by the Legislature to either dent those powers or prevent Lingle from seizing even greater control.

All this is apparent in several vetoes. For instance, Lingle rejected a legislative proposal to embed in law an emerging Department of Education policy to transfer at least some authority and accountability to managers at the school "complex" level.

Legislators say they were simply trying to "align" the statutes with what is already happening. Lingle said the bill was unnecessary, since it codifies what the DOE is already doing. But she also recognized that it was a legislative effort to take the policy question of school governance out of her hands and place it directly with the DOE and, by implication, the Legislature.

Another measure vetoed by Lingle would have set up a study commission to look into a fixed rail system for O'ahu. She could have vetoed the measure on grounds this is a matter where the Honolulu city government, not the state, should take the lead.

But, no, Lingle rejected the study commission because, she said, she has a similar group of her own looking at all transit options for O'ahu. Again, legislators sought to steer public policy according to their ideas and the governor balked.

In a similar vein, Lingle rejected a bill instructing the administration to begin talks on a new correctional facility at Halawa. Decisions about what kind of prison should be built, and where, are policy matters for the governor to control, Lingle said.

In short, many of these vetoes reflect less a conflict over specific ideas or a disagreement over how much money is available, and more a raw struggle for control over basic state policy.

If history is any guide, the cards are in Lingle's hand on this, whether legislators like it or not. Lawmakers have the power to stop policy initiatives set by the governor, but they are rarely successful in imposing their own policy preferences on the executive.

Jerry Burris is editor of the editorial pages of The Advertiser. You can reach him through letters@HonoluluAdvertiser.com