Legislature special session unlikely

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

With seven vetoes under their belts before the Legislature's adjournment Thursday, lawmakers likely will not reconvene in special session to override any other bills Gov. Linda Lingle might reject.

Majority Democrats in the House and Senate rushed out major bills in mid-April dealing with the budget, education reform and anti-ice legislation. Anticipating possible vetoes, majority leaders said they wanted to be in session if Lingle rejected the bills, and avoid having to come back in the summer for a special session.

Under the state constitution, the governor has 10 days to veto bills approved 10 or more legislative days before adjournment. The Legislature must override those bills before the end of session,

Of the 59 bills approved during the 10-day deadline, Lingle vetoed 10. The Legislature issued overrides on seven of them.

"We prioritized our key issues, and those key issues that have been vetoed have been overridden," said House Majority Leader Scott Saiki, D-22nd (McCully, Pawa'a).

The governor has 45 days to veto bills approved less than 10 days before the end of session. This year, Lingle has until July 13. The Legislature would have to meet in special session on that day if it wanted to take override votes.

The Legislature passed 274 bills this session, according to the Legislature Reference Bureau, compared with 292 bills last year.

Lingle said that after the final day Thursday she wants her administration to review each of the remaining 215 bills before deciding what actions to take on them. She hinted that she would reject certain "erosion" bills affecting the governor's executive powers, such as a measure requiring the governor to justify deputy director and special assistant positions to the Legislature.

"I expect that would be a pretty obvious one to take a close look at," Lingle said.

Saiki said it was unlikely legislators would seek more override votes. "At this point, nothing else rises to the level that would justify an override," he said. "As far as we're concerned, our work is done for the year."

Last year, Lingle vetoed 50 of the 292 bills passed. The Legislature came back in July and voted to override six.

Advertiser reporter Lynda Arakawa contributed to this report.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8070.