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Fall 2005

Winter 2005

President's Message (Sue Irvine)
Maui Will Get Out the Vote (Joshua Cooper & Tamara Horcajo)
Healthcare Task Force Members
Kauai Studies Transportation (Carol Bain)
Informal Discussions Resume
Honolulu League Takes Up Housing (Jackie Parnell)
Task Force Plans Healthcare for All (Jean Aoki)
Hawaii Coalition Against Legalized Gambling (HCALG) (Grace Furukawa)
New Board of the League of Women Voters of Hawaii
Secrecy Is on the Rise (Carol Bain)
Sex Offender Web Site (Jaurene Judy)
Still Working for Clean Elections (Grace Furukawa)
Revised Position on Initiative and Referendum
From Grumble to Rumble: The Silver Legislature

Revised Position on Initiative and Referendum

In 1999 Marian Wilkins agreed to chair a study committee to examine the League's 1977-adopted position in support of Direct Initiative and Referendum. After publication of the committee's study, consensus meetings were held by local Leagues in the summer of 2003. The State Board spent many months analyzing the results and issued the revised position which was presented to the May, 2005 convention

The Board apologizes for its failure to post our revised position in the last issue of Ka Leo. The position, as adopted, reads:

The League of Women Voters of Hawaii supports the passage of legislation to allow the use of either direct or indirect initiative, with a preference for indirect, to propose statute law.

We support the use of the petition referendum to amend or repeal current legislation.

We oppose the use of referendum by the legislature (legislative or optional referendum) and we oppose advisory initiative or referendum.

We have no consensus on the use of initiative for amending the state constitution.

Although not a formal part of the position, the committee's report also emphasized that laws should discourage frivolous use of initiative and referendum, and that "the veto power of the governor should not extend to laws passed by initiative or referendum, and that it should be difficult for the legislature to overturn or amend a measure passed by direct legislation."

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