A wily veteran of the lobbying game at the Hawai'i State Capitol once said that the bulk of his work was not getting legislation passed for his client.

"Most of my work is killing things," he said.

That puts a spotlight on one of the less-well-understood dynamics of a legislative session. Most attention is focused, rightfully, on the things that are on their way to becoming law. But for specific interests, particularly the ones that tend to hire lobbyists, often the biggest news is stuff that didn't happen.

Occasionally the issues that make it into the "failed" category generate great public declarations of unhappiness. But for the most part, failed bills produce little more than soft sighs, often of quiet satisfaction. Once again, eager lawmakers have been headed off before they can do more harm.

On Sunday, The Advertiser's crack legislative team published a full list of bills that passed or failed this year. The "passed" list is long and, in many areas, impressive.

But it is the "failed" section that tells some of the most interesting stories. Often, if you dig, the fine hand of a skilled lobbyist can be detected.

For instance, there was a proposal to ban .50-caliber rifles, something the police seemed to want very badly. Score one for the well-organized and determined Second Amendment folks.

Medical malpractice "reform" died again this year. The word "reform" is in quotes because for some segments of the population (plaintiff lawyers and their injured clients, most notably), this is not reform but an effort to restrict the rights of one group in pursuit of holding down healthcare costs.

A seemingly innocuous measure that would have required hospitals to provide emergency contraception to sexual assault victims failed again. This is largely the work of quiet but determined lobbying by hospitals with religious affiliations that are uncomfortable with after-the-fact "contraception."

On the flip side of the coin, a measure that would have forced state-funded sex education classes to talk about both abstinence and contraception ran into a buzzsaw from conservative folks who feel discussing anything except abstinence might encourage reckless behavior.

An eco-friendly idea to ban the use of foam takeout food containers died an early death. Call it a victory for the struggling plate lunch gang.

You get the picture. And these were only the bills that generated enough attention to warrant notice when they failed. The real goal of a lobbyist is to stop an idea cold, before anyone even begins to seriously talk about it.

Jerry Burris' column appears Wednesdays. See his blog at http://akamaipolitics.honadvblogs.com/.

Jerry Burris' column appears Wednesdays in this space. See his blog at blogs.honoluluadvertiser.com/akamaipolitics. Reach him at jrryburris@yahoo.com.