Statements of Objection (Veto Messages)
HB853 HD2
Veto: April 13, 2007
RELATING TO PUBLIC WORK PROJECTS.
Bans a contractor from bidding on government contracts for three years if
the contractor is found to be in violation of the public works employee wage
and hours law as a result of a single investigation covering three or more
concurrent projects, regardless of the de minimis nature of the
violation. Read a
message from the Governor.
SB776
Veto: April 13, 2007
RELATING TO FIRE PROTECTION.
Duplicates Act 10 of 2007 that clarified that the State shall be responsible
for the annual fire inspection of State-owned airport facilities. Read
a
message from the Governor.
SB1513
Veto: April 13, 2007
RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES.
Duplicates Act 7 of 2007 that eliminated the State law setting the height of
automobile headlights and license plates. Read a
message from the Governor.
HB1672
Veto: April 16, 2007
RELATING TO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE AGENCIES.
Increases the maximum salary of the Deputy Auditor, the First Assistant to
the Ombudsman, and the First Assistant to the Director of the Legislative
Reference Bureau (LRB) from 87 percent to 92 percent of the pay of their
respective supervisors, allowing these positions to earn more than the
Director of Hawaiian Home Lands, the Director of Public Safety, the Director
of Human Resources Development, the Chairperson of the Department of
Agriculture, and many other major Executive Branch positions. Read a
message from the Governor.
SB14 SD1 HD1
Veto: April 18, 2007
RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I.
Would allow special interest groups meeting behind closed doors to propose
candidates for appointment to the University of Hawai‘i Board of Regents.
Read a
message from the Governor and a
news release.
SB1956
Veto: April 23, 2007
RELATING TO THE AGREEMENT AMONG THE STATES TO ELECT THE PRESIDENT BY
NATIONAL POPULAR VOTE.
Would allow Hawai‘i’s electoral votes to go to a presidential candidate for
whom the majority of Hawai‘i voters did not vote. Read a
message from the Governor.
SB1642 SD1 HD1
Veto: April 24, 2007
RELATING TO LABOR.
Hinders the ability of local and State government to efficiently and
effectively carry out public services by making promotions, transfers,
assignments, demotions, layoffs, suspensions, terminations, discharges, or
other disciplinary actions negotiable items.
Excerpt from Governor’s statement of
objections: “This bill is objectionable because it
constitutes an unacceptable infringement upon management rights currently
protected under section 89-9(d), Hawai‘i Revised Statutes. This bill
erodes management rights and, by allowing negotiations on the criteria
management uses to act on matters such as layoffs, transfers, and
assignments, it involves labor in the fundamental decision-making process of
management. In permitting negotiations over assignments, this bill
would adversely impact the employer's ability to make assignments of
specific employees and groups of employees and hinder the delivery of
services to the public. This bill would critically impede the public
employers’ ability to manage their workforce and protect the health and
safety of the public.” Read the full
message from the Governor.
HB863 HD1
Veto: April 24, 2007
RELATING TO PUBLIC WORK PROJECTS.
Requires a private construction project owner who leases more than 50
percent of the building or facility to the State or a political subdivision
to comply with all the requirements of a public works project, thus
discouraging leases to public-sector entities. Read a
message from the Governor.
SB1063 SD1 HD1
Veto: April 25, 2007
RELATING TO LEGISLATIVE VACANCIES.
Subjects legislative appointments to the control of unelected persons who
are not accountable to the people of the State. Read a
message from the Governor.
Excerpt from the Governor’s statement of objections:
“The process for filling vacancies in the United States Senate and the Hawaii State Legislature has been in place since 1970 and has not been shown to have compromised the integrity of the election process. This bill places the ability for determining who may be appointed by the Governor with the political party leadership of the vacating office holder. This is in spite of the fact that these individuals are not elected by the public and, as such, are not accountable to them. Additionally, the bill, without any stated rationale, narrows the field of qualified candidates that the political party can consider to those who have been registered members of that party for at least six months prior to the appointment. Such a provision fails to recognize that this may unreasonably restrict the pool of potential candidates as the majority of people who personally and philosophically associate themselves with a political party and vote along party lines may not meet this requirement.”
SB1816 SD1 HD1
Veto: April 26, 2007
RELATING TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION.
Restricts consultation on the Mo‘okini Heiau monument to only one entity,
excluding other interested parties, including the Office of Hawaiian
Affairs, Kamehameha School, the Luhiau family, and adjoining land
owners. Read a
message from the Governor.
HB10 SD1
Veto: April 27, 2007
RELATING TO PRESCRIPTION DRUGS.
Would endanger the Hawai‘i Rx Plus drug coverage program covering 112,000
residents by mandating rebates from participating pharmaceutical
companies. Read a
message from the Governor.
HB854 HD1 SD1
Veto: May 1, 2007
RELATING TO CONTINUED TEMPORARY TOTAL DISABILITY BENEFITS TO INJURED
EMPLOYEES.
Extends temporary total disability payments to employees deemed ready to
return to work and gives the employee, but not the employer, the right to
request a hearing to determine if the payments should be discontinued. Read
a
message from the Governor.
HB861 HD1 SD1
Veto: May 1, 2007
RELATING TO PUBLIC WORKS.
Would make projects financed by special purpose revenue bonds
subject to Department of Labor and Industrial Relations monitoring for
compliance with prevailing wage and hour laws. Read a
message from the Governor.
HB910 HD1 SD1
Veto: May 1, 2007
RELATING TO PUBLIC FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS.
Discourages qualified individuals from volunteering to sit on certain
executive boards and commissions by making their financial disclosure
statements matters of public record. Read a
message from the Governor.
HB0030
RELATING TO INTERNATIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS.
Explanation: This bill places Hawai‘i’s firms at a
disadvantage regarding tariffs and access to international markets. In
most other states international trade and procurement activities are
approved by the Governor. This bill prohibits Hawai‘i’s Governor from
approving an international trade agreement without legislative approval and
would require notification to the Senate President and House Speaker to
convene a special session to approve an agreement. Forty-eight other
states vest approval authority exclusively with the Governor. Read a
message from the Governor.
HB0091
RELATING TO PUBLIC ACCOUNTANCY.
Explanation: This bill makes it harder for persons to get the
workplace experience necessary to qualify for licensure as a certified
public accountant by eliminating accounting and auditing in the private or
government sectors as qualifying experience. This bill also lowers the
educational requirements necessary for licensure as a certified public
accountant by eliminating the requirement that an applicant for a CPA
license have either a bachelor’s degree in accounting or a bachelor’s in
another subject combined with eighteen semester hours of upper division or
graduate level accounting or auditing subjects. According to the
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Hawai‘i would become the
only state to allow persons to sit for the CPA exam without an educational
concentration in accountancy. Read a
message from the Governor.
HB0310
RELATING TO TECHNOLOGY.
Explanation: This bill creates a 15-member Broadband Task Force solely
appointed by the Senate President and House Speaker and fails to recognize
the proper location within the state government for this function. The
bill instructs the Office of the Legislative Auditor to provide staff
support rather than the Department of Accounting and General Services which
has management responsibility for the state’s internet, website, and
communications activities. The Auditor’s primary duties are to conduct
post audits of government spending and determine if improper financial
activities have occurred. Read a
message from the Governor.
HB0436
RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES.
Explanation: This bill mandates that chiropractic services shall be
covered for purposes of Medicaid fee-for-service and QUEST state provided
health care plans. This obligates the state to pay for this coverage
without prescribed limits and regardless of the budget impact. Read a
message from the Governor.
HB0718
RELATING TO KAKA‘AKO.
Explanation: This bill is unconstitutional because it sets aside two
specific parcels, known as the old ice chute and the fuel dock operations
building site, for the continued use of the Kewalo Keiki Fishing
Conservancy, which violates Article XI, Section 5 of the Hawai‘i State
Constitution. Additionally, a 2002 environmental report found benzene, lead,
asbestos and other hazardous chemicals at the site. Read a
message from the Governor.
HB0855
RELATING TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION.
Explanation: This bill allows an employee to continue receiving
workers’ compensation medical treatment during an ongoing dispute over the
necessity and reasonableness of that care, even if a doctor has declared the
employee fit to return to work. This bill also restricts the workers’
compensation rulemaking authority of the Director of Labor and Industrial
Relations, which is granted to other executive branch department heads, by
requiring the Director to submit proposed rules for approval by both houses
of the Legislature. Without prior approval by the legislature, the
rules cannot be sent to the Governor. Read a
message from the Governor.
HB1270
RELATING TO STATE PLANNING.
Explanation: This bill requires the Auditor to continue to
prepare the 2050 sustainability plan, a function outside of the scope of the
Auditor’s duties, further delays the issuance of the plan, and appropriates
an additional $850,000 to the project, bringing the total in state
expenditures to $1.7 million. The task force failed to present a
sustainability plan to the Legislature even with the extension granted to it
in 2006 and has spent a significant amount of state funds with no report to
date. Read a
message from the Governor.
HB1503
RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT.
Explanation: This bill adversely impacts employers and
employees by requiring businesses that are going through bankruptcy or
restructuring their finances to prematurely notify their employees and the
state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations of a possible
closure. Requiring public disclosure may negatively impact the very
employees this bill seeks to help by jeopardizing the owner’s efforts to
reconstitute their business. Lenders and financial institutions will
be understandably hesitant to provide funding, renegotiate leases, extend
credit terms, or take other actions if they believe the business is going to
close. Likewise, customers are more prone to take their business
elsewhere and employees may seek other jobs, thus further negatively
impacting those who remain with the firm. Additionally, this bill has
reporting deadlines that are inconsistent with the federal Worker Adjustment
and Retraining Notification Act of 1989. Read a
message from the Governor.
HB1605
RELATING TO TRAFFIC CONTROL.
Explanation: This bill diverts $400,000 from the State Highway
Fund for a traffic control center exclusively on Maui that is not part of
the approved State Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP) and is not
included in the Maui County budget. This bill could be amended in
special session by the Legislature to use moneys from the state’s general
fund. Read a
message from the Governor.
HB1659
RELATING TO PROCUREMENT.
Explanation: This bill would use public taxpayer moneys to pay
for booths, trade mission expenses, conference fees and related costs that
benefit private, for-profit corporations. This bill would also
diminish public-private state and business opportunity endeavors, such as
trade missions by requiring donations and contributions from businesses to
go into the state’s general fund, rather than be used for the specific
purpose intended. Read a
message from the Governor.
HB1670
RELATING TO THE INGENUITY CHARTER.
Explanation: This bill creates the Hawai‘i Ingenuity Company,
a private, for-profit, non-stock, limited liability company within Hawai‘i
statutes that would have no attachment with any state department, not be
subject to Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs oversight, and open
the state to potential legal challenges. Because this bill exempts
this corporation from DCCA oversight, while other limited liability
corporations are subject to State requirements, this bill may result in a
challenge under the equal protection clause of the Constitution.
Because this bill embeds a private corporation within state law, the bill
could make the State legally liable for the acts of a private firm.
Additionally, this bill appropriates $30,000 in general funds to capitalize
the corporation. This appropriation of public funds to a private
entity violates Article VII, Section 4 of the State Constitution. The
bill fails to give inventors voting rights in the Corporation and gives them
few financial benefits. Read a
message from the Governor.
HB1764
RELATING TO THE ISSUANCE OF REVENUE BONDS TO ASSIST HAWAI`I HEALTH SYSTEMS
CORPORATIONS OR ANY OF ITS REGIONAL SUBSIDIARY
CORPORATIONS.
Explanation: SB1792 sets up regional boards for the governance of
Hawai‘i Health Systems Corporation (HHSC) hospitals. This bill should be
vetoed because SB1792 will become law. Otherwise, if SB1764 becomes
law only Maui and the Statewide Hospital Board will be able to issue revenue
bonds, denying hospitals on Kaua‘i, O‘ahu and Hawai‘i Island from being able
to do so. Read a
message from the Governor.
HB1818
RELATING TO GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.
Explanation: This bill requires the Governor to submit
nominations for heads of departments no later than the 41st day of the
regular session of the Legislature. If a vacant office is not filled
within sixty days of the vacancy, then the "highest ranking" and "most
senior officer in a civil service position" of a respective department will
serve as the temporary executive. While the intent of this bill is
understandable, enactment could lead to situations where an employee with
little or no management experience may oversee hundreds or thousands of
employees, millions of dollars, and programs that are far beyond the scope
of the individual’s experience. Filling these senior positions
requires an appropriate assessment of skill level, ability, competency,
attitude, and personal commitment to serve. Read a
message from the Governor.
HB1830
RELATING TO CHILD PROTECTION.
Explanation: This bill provides immunity from prosecution for
a person who abandons a newborn baby who is less than 72 hours old.
This bill allows anyone to leave the newborn regardless of whether the
individual is in legal possession or related to the infant and without
genealogical or medical history about the child. This bill provides no
safeguards to protect the rights of both parents or extended family members
such as grandparents. The infant would be placed at a disadvantage
regarding eligibility for blood-quantum based programs. Read a
message from the Governor.
SB0046
RELATING TO GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS.
Explanation: This bill requires the University of Hawai‘i, Board of
Regents, to publicly disclose proposed compensation, or any change in
compensation, for high-level administrative positions in the University
system. Requiring proposed compensation to be disclosed for public
comment prior to a contract being negotiated and executed damages the
University’s ability to negotiate a contract favorable to the University and
taxpayers. This bill infringes upon the employee’s right to privacy
and is inconsistent with existing sunshine laws. Read a
message from the Governor.
SB0613
RELATING TO EDUCATION.
Explanation: This bill requires the Department of Education to
prematurely implement a series of early childhood education program changes
before the Early Learning Educational Task Force, set up by Act 259 of 2006,
has completed its work. The Department of Education testified against
this bill. Read a
message from the Governor.
SB0755
RELATING TO COUNTY ETHICS COMMISSIONS.
Explanation: This bill infringes upon home rule by requiring
each county to adopt an ordinance, which creates an "independent body" that
will select members for each county ethics commission. This process
conflicts with existing law, which requires each county ethics commission to
be established by charter. Read a
message from the Governor.
SB0837
RELATING TO AGRICULTURE.
Explanation: This bill presents a potential legal liability to
the state because it includes lands within the City Urban Growth Boundary in
‘Ewa for purchase by the Agribusiness Development Corporation as
agricultural lands using $9.2 million in general funds. It also would
allow expenditure of taxpayer funds to purchase agricultural lands at a
publicized asking price from a large private landowner rather than using the
state’s power of eminent domain to purchase the property at fair market
value. The Legislature has the ability to amend this bill to authorize
the use of condemnation through eminent domain. Read a
message from the Governor.
SB0870
RELATING TO THE DESIGNATION OF HAWAI`I ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA SURVEY.
Explanation: This bill may result in an unconstitutional
taking because it requires the Bishop Museum, a private, non-profit
organization, to make available through an on-line database its collection
of archaeological material without compensation. Disclosing the
location of these items could cause security issues and place the items in
jeopardy. Additionally, such disclosure appears to violate the Federal
Archaeological Resources Protection Act. Read a
message from the Governor.
SB0932
RELATING TO A COMPREHENSIVE OFFENDER REENTRY SYSTEM.
Explanation: This bill endangers the well-being of inmates,
compromises the safety of the community, exposes the state to costly
litigation and provides only a single year of funding for programs with
multi-year impacts. This bill unrealistically requires the Department
of Public Safety to return inmates from the mainland at least 1-year prior
to their parole or release date to participate in inmate reentry programs
without ensuring adequate facilities to house them and without considering
the inmate’s completion of rehabilitation programs. It also
establishes unrealistic expectations that inmates will be incarcerated in
facilities nearest their families without providing a means to do so. Read a
message from the Governor.
SB0946
RELATING TO ADMINISTRATIVE LICENSE REVOCATION.
Explanation: This bill will reduce the deterrent impact of the
lifetime driver’s license revocation law for intoxicated drivers by allowing
these high-risk offenders back on the roads, jeopardizing public
safety. An individual is subjected to a lifetime revocation when he or
she has had three or more prior alcohol or drug related driving violations
within a ten-year period. The lifetime revocation provision is
intended to protect the offender and others from the chronic offender’s own
highly dangerous conduct and should remain an option to address the serious
problem of impaired driving in Hawai‘i. Read a
message from the Governor.
SB1004
RELATING TO PSYCHOLOGISTS.
Explanation: This bill allows psychologists to prescribe
psychotropic drugs to patients of all ages and medical conditions without
the required medical expertise, formal education, or training. It
allows psychologists with a prescription certificate to practice outside of
federally qualified health centers and to do so without the supervision of a
physician, such as a psychiatrist. Read a
message from the Governor.
SB1060
RELATING TO WORKERS' COMPENSATING LAW.
Explanation: This bill permanently removes the workers’
compensation rule-making powers of the director of the Department of Labor
and Industrial Relations and permanently prohibits the director from
amending or repealing existing workers’ compensation administrative
rules. This bill also requires an employer and/or the employer’s
insurer to continue paying for medical services and temporary total
disability benefits during a workers’ compensation dispute, until the
director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations makes a
decision that such benefits should be terminated. This minimizes the
employers and the insurer’s chance of recovering overpayments. Read a
message from the Governor.
SB1066
RELATING TO INVASIVE SPECIES.
Explanation: This bill imposes a new fee on marine commercial
containers exclusively, despite other possible invasive species entry modes
into Hawai‘i. Assessing a new fee only on marine shipments, while
using the fee for inspection of other modes of cargo shipment, could be
subject to legal challenge. Additionally, passage of this bill would
make it difficult to defend against efforts by other jurisdictions, most
notably California, to impose fees on containers coming into Hawai‘i. Read a
message from the Governor.
SB1191
RELATING TO PEDESTRIAN SAFETY.
Explanation: This bill will appropriate $3.0 million over two
years for county pedestrian improvements. Even though the underlying
purpose is good, it is not appropriate to subsidize county programs solely
with the State Highway Fund while the counties receive funds through the
county fuel taxes. The State Highway Fund has been depleted over the
past several years and is not the proper source of funding for this
undertaking. This bill can be amended by the Legislature in special
session to ensure the moneys for pedestrian safety come from the general
fund. Read a
message from the Governor.
SB1922
RELATING TO CREATIVE MEDIA.
Explanation: This bill appears to violate Section 5 of Article
XI of the Hawai‘i Constitution by requiring the University of Hawai‘i to
lease a specific property to a specific private party (PBS) at no cost and
on specific terms and conditions. University of Hawai‘i autonomy
provides the Board of Regents “exclusive jurisdiction over the internal
structure, management and operation of the University”. The land
on which the PBS Hawai‘i facility is located was granted to the University
by Executive Order 1807, which provides in pertinent part that “the public
land hereinafter described is hereby set aside for the following public
purposes: For Educational Purposes, to be under the control and management
of the Board of Regents of the University of Hawai‘i.” The Bill
violates the terms on which the University holds the land by setting aside
the authority of the Board of Regents to control and manage the land and
substituting the Legislature’s determination of how the land should be used
for the Regents. This bill can be amended in special session by the
Legislature to delete the unconstitutional provision. Read a
message from the Governor.
SB1988
RELATING TO HONEY.
Explanation: This bill regulates the labeling and advertising
of honey products in interstate commerce, which may violate the Commerce
Clause and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This bill
could be challenged as an impermissible burden on interstate commerce
because it regulates manufacturers and advertisers outside of Hawai‘i who
deal with products that contain at least a portion of Hawai‘i-produced honey
but who sell their products both in Hawai‘i and elsewhere. The
labeling requirements may also face a First Amendment challenge as a
restriction on commercial speech not narrowly tailored to prevent the
misleading of consumers. Read a
message from the Governor.
