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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, April 19, 2006

About 30 bills passed, forwarded to governor

Advertiser Staff

AT A GLANCE

Bills sent to the governor on Monday would:

  • Require the state adjutant general to have experience that includes five years as an active commissioned officer with the Hawai'i National Guard.

  • Prohibit discrimination in public accommodations based on gender identity or expression, or sexual orientation.

  • Require the governor to fill vacancies in the Senate, House and U.S. Senate from a list of three prospective appointees nominated by the political party of the previous office holder. Appointees must have been registered members of the nominating party for at least six months.

  • Require safety-helmet use for moped riders younger than 18.

  • Make the humuhumunukunukuapua'a the official state fish.

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    The state House passed about 30 bills on Monday, giving them enough time to override any potential gubernatorial vetoes before the session ends on May 4.

    The bills include 10 emergency appropriations requested by the governor, as well as others that would require the state adjutant general to have active-duty service and require the governor to fill state House, Senate and U.S. Senate vacancies with nominees from the prior holder's party.

    House Republicans took issue with the process, saying a lack of open-government laws in the Legislature contributed to them not having enough time to review the bills before their final reading.

    House members received the bills from the Senate by April 13, giving the lawmakers more than the required 48 hours to review them. But House Republicans expected the bills to have another hearing before a conference committee before the final vote.

    House Minority Leader Rep. Lynn Finnegan said in a news release that members of the House and the public should have been given 24 hours notice before the vote.

    "Although this 24-hour notice is practiced as a courtesy, it is a procedure among others that must be standardized," she said. "More important than any political maneuver is the public's and the member's opportunity for ample time to review a bill before final decision-making."

    However, majority members point out that the final versions of the bills were available for the members and the public to view since last week, and that this was not the first time this session that the House has taken prompt action on bills received from the Senate.

    House Speaker Calvin Say said the majority leaders and committee chairmen worked through the weekend to review all the bills that had crossed over from the Senate to determine which they could pass as is instead of taking them to conference committee.

    "It's a process that is very transparent, very collegial as far as what we do," he said.

    Say said the governor had requested prompt passage of one-third of the bills to cover budget shortfalls. "I feel very proud of what we accomplished," he said.