An issue that Kaua‘i voters will have on their Nov. 4 ballot will be whether to authorize the holding of a constitutional convention to consider potential changes to our state constitution. If the holding of the convention is approved by
An issue that Kaua‘i voters will have on their Nov. 4 ballot will be whether to authorize the holding of a constitutional convention to consider potential changes to our state constitution. If the holding of the convention is approved by a majority of all votes cast, (and there is a rule that is reprehensible to many that blank and spoiled ballots will be counted as “No” votes) then citizen delegates will be elected, most likely two or three from each district. After the delegates have met, their proposals will be submitted to voters for approval or rejection.
Since statehood in 1959, although provision is made for the holding of the convention every 10 years, there have been only two — one in 1968 and one in 1978. It is now 30 years since the last convention.
Proposals to amend our constitution can only arise from our Legislature or from the convention. In the past 50 years a total of 67 measures have been proposed by the Legislature of which 48 (about 70 percent) have been adopted by the voters. From the two conventions 55 measures have been proposed and 54 were adopted (98 percent). It is apparent that voters have found the convention proposals more appealing. Perhaps that is because at the convention the sole function is to consider ways to make our constitution a better document while at the Legislature, a constitutional change is not the primary focus.
The concept of a convention should be a non-partisan one, but in practice it has become politicized. Because the focus of the convention may be directed to issues that the Legislature has avoided or has not acted on, in a sense the convention is a cross check on the Legislature. This has not escaped the attention of some of the leaders controlling the Legislature who have urged a “No” vote on the question.
Our citizens seem about equally divided on the matter. In 1996 the convention was rejected because of the blank and spoiled ballot rule although a majority of those voting on it favored holding the convention.
Some opponents have claimed we have a model constitution and no flaws have been found in it. However, a number of issues are of concern. It is likely that the deliberations of the delegates to the convention will include them, but there are no fixed horizons. Advocates of the convention find that the absence of restraints other than the suitability of the topic for inclusion in the constitution to be one of its strengths. Members of the political establishment that are terrified that the convention might result in a loss of their power have engaged in some scare mongering speculating that the convention could be irresponsible and say that this uncertainty would lead to dangerous proposals being made. They seem to overlook that the voters have final control over what will become law.
This view that our constitution is a fine document and no further changes are needed is an unjustified position. While some principles are eternal, changing times and circumstances will always require that accommodations are in order. Some 220 years ago the framers of our federal constitution, most of whom had been legislators in the colonies, created a charter that was certainly the best that had ever been written. But it was not adopted until it had been amended by citizen demand to include the Bill of Rights which set forth the basic liberties that we treasure today. In similar vein the founders of our state recognized the importance of having a living, evolving constitution when they made the provision of a convention that could be held at 10-year intervals.
A few of the topics widely noted as potentials for constitutional changes should be mentioned. One of them relates to the fact that Hawai‘i expends each year about $2.5 billion on education for our children. There is no subject of greater importance than seeing that our schools are functional. The money invested by our state is higher per student than that of 34 other states. But the results of achievement tests from our students continues to be at or near the bottom of scores from other states. We critically need to improve. One of the limiting factors has been that our Legislature is heavily lobbied by teachers and government employees unions who favor the status quo.
Convention delegates would not be as greatly affected by these constraints and some effective new ideas may emerge. For example, Hawai‘i is the only state that does not have local school boards. Most people believe that government is most effective when it is closest to the people governed. A popular idea is rewarding teachers for better performances by their students. It is noteworthy that the unions, including the teachers union, are funding most of the ads against the ConCon.
Other concepts that could be considered by the convention are: provisions that would require greater openness in our government — the Legislature adopted the State Sunshine Law but then exempted themselves from its coverage: greater citizen rights are important to many as Hawai‘i does not allow citizen petitions to be made to change state laws or its constitution: more autonomy for the counties.
In one respect the convention reflects one’s philosophy of government. Opponents of the convention say that the function of citizens is to vote for their representatives but otherwise to have no voice. Proponents of the convention believe that the citizen’s role is greater and that they should maintain a continuing oversight and to act as a safety valve when elected officials fail to act in accordance with the public will.
The election next week will test the points discussed. My view is that we should always be willing to pursue opportunities that offer the prospect of improving how we are governed, that our governmental system and documents are clearly not perfect and that voting for the proposal to allow elected delegates to make recommendations to enhance our society is surely the better path.
• Walter Lewis is a resident of Princeville and writes a bi-weekly column for The Garden Island.
