Major bills passed quickly to deal with possible vetoes

By Lynda Arakawa and Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

House and Senate lawmakers passed major legislation dealing with education reform, the war on ice and the $3.6 billion state budget yesterday to give them enough time this session to override any veto by Gov. Linda Lingle, who has criticized those measures.

House Speaker Calvin Say, D-20th (St. Louis, Palolo, Wilhelmina Rise), acknowledged that Democrats wanted to hand Lingle their majority package bills early.

"The decision both houses made was that they didn't want to come back in July (in a special session to override the vetoes)," he said.

Senate President Robert Bunda, D-22nd (North Shore, Wahiawa), also said lawmakers want to avoid a special session. "They wanted to go out there and really start the campaign (for re-election)," he said.

Lingle vetoed 50 bills last year. The Legislature reconvened to override six of them last summer. Democrats hold 20 of 25 seats in the Senate and 36 of 51 seats in the House, enough for the two-thirds vote to override vetoes by the Republican governor.

Lingle spokesman Russell Pang said the governor was reviewing the legislation and would comment later, but Republican lawmakers yesterday criticized the move for a final vote on the measures and unsuccessfully urged Democrats to defer the floor vote.

House Minority Leader Galen Fox, R-23rd (Waikiki, Ala Moana, Kaka'ako), said lawmakers are almost forcing the governor to veto the budget bill because it does not reflect all state costs, including contracts still being negotiated with public school teachers and blue-collar workers.

"If they only give her part of the picture, how in the world can she come down with a judgment that is sound?" Fox said.

Senate Bill 3238, the comprehensive education reform measure, passed yesterday after lengthy partisan debate, 22-3 in the Senate and 39-12 in the House.

All opposing votes came from Republicans. They said the bill merely maintains the status quo and repeated their objections to the Democrats' continued refusal to place Lingle's plan for local school boards on the ballot as a constitutional amendment question.

Democrats hailed the bill for finally giving educators the tools to make them more accountable for student performance, including a weighted student formula, lowering class sizes and establishing school community councils.

"The problem with this bill is it leaves the Board of Education unchanged — one central board that meets primarily on O'ahu," said Rep. Cynthia Thielen, R-50th (Kailua, Mokapu). "This bill will not let the voters decide and vote on education reform. It's an absolute slam in their face. "

Rep. Dennis Arakaki, D-30th (Moanalua, Kalihi Valley, Alewa), said weighted student formulas would ensure that the needy youths in his district get the resources they need to succeed in school. The debate over school boards has been blown out of proportion, he said.

No one remembers school board members, but they do remember the teachers and principals who influenced them while growing up, Arakaki said.

Two measures designed as a one-two punch to battle the crystal methamphetamine epidemic are also among the issues before Lingle. House Bill 2004 earmarks $15 million for various education, treatment and rehabilitation programs.

The omnibus House Bill 2003 addresses different aspects of the ice epidemic, including stiffer penalties for some drug-related offenses and establishing citizens' rights to sue dealers for injuries they suffer.

The ice money measure passed easily in both chambers, 49-0 in the House and 24-1 in the Senate.

House Judiciary Chairman Eric Hamakawa, D-3rd (Hilo, Kea'au, Mountain View), who co-chaired a House-Senate task force that came up with recommendations to address the ice problem, said the two bills incorporate recommendations made by the public in a series of meetings last year.

Hamakawa cited recent headlines about violent, ice-related crimes. "We must act now. We cannot wait for more data," he said.

House Minority Floor Leader Colleen Meyer, R-47th (Ha'iku), who also served on the task force, also praised the money bill. "I think if this is all well-monitored, we're going to see some very positive results," she said.

The anti-ice omnibus bill, which moved out of the Senate earlier this month by a 21-3 vote, was approved in the House yesterday 38-11. The no votes in both houses came from Republicans who said the bill does not go far enough in giving law enforcement officials the tools they've asked for to battle crystal meth, such as "walk and talk" queries.

Fox said the omnibus bill actually weakens existing drug laws. "This is an extreme example of the theory that being somebody dependent on crystal meth is the same thing as being somebody who has diabetes," Fox said. "So we're treating these people as if they're sick, not as is if they're criminals."

House Judiciary Vice Chairman Blake Oshiro, D-33rd (Halawa, 'Aiea, Pearlridge), said Fox's comment makes clear the difference between Democrats and Republicans on tackling the ice epidemic. "Some people believe that putting people in jail, locking them up, is the way to go," he said.

During debate on the budget bill, House Bill 1800, Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairman Brian Taniguchi, D-10th (Manoa, McCully), praised the budget for providing critically needed resources to improve public schools, help the state hospital network, assist the poor and battle ice.

Taniguchi also took some shots at Lingle, saying "now that the governor feels she is not getting her way with this budget, she has resorted to name-calling" and threatened retaliation against Democrats in the election.

"I'm not really surprised, however, as it is apparent that our governor finds that retaliation, not cooperation, is the best course of action to get things done in government," he said.

Republicans shot back by criticizing the budget, calling it an irresponsible plan that depends on raiding special funds. "This is not a budget," said Senate Minority Leader Fred Hemmings, R-25th (Kailua, Waimanalo, Hawai'i Kai), who reluctantly voted for the bill. "The definition of a budget is to take into account income and expenditures. This is simply the omnibus spending bill."

The Senate voted 23-2 to pass the budget. The House vote was 43-7. All opposing votes came from Republicans.

The House and Senate also passed a bill that allocates money for the arbitrated raises for public employees in the Hawai'i Government Employees Association. The arbitration award gives HGEA workers raises between 5 percent and 9 percent.

Most Senate Republicans opposed the bill, saying public employees already are paid fair salaries and enjoy a level of benefits beyond that of the private sector and other states.

Sen. Sam Slom, R-8th (Kahala, Hawai'i Kai), said he respects and appreciates the work of public employees, but the salary increases would be "a tremendous burden which is only going to be exacerbated as we look further in the future."

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com and Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com. Reach either at 525-8070.