Hawaii State Legislature

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The Hawaii State Legislature is the state legislature of Hawaii. Its upper house is the Hawaii Senate and its lower house is the Hawaii House of Representatives.

The legislature meets in Honolulu. It is the descendant of the legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii, the Republic of Hawaii, and the territorial legislature of the U.S. Territory of Hawaii.

The Hawaii State Legislature makes laws that govern the state of Hawaii. The Senate has the advise and consent power to confirm the governor's appointments, both for the executive branch, such as department heads, and most judges of the judicial branch. Both houses may propose amendments to the Hawaii Constitution by either a 2/3 vote of each house in a single session, or a majority vote of both houses in two sessions. Constitutional amendments are presented to the public at the next general election and must pass by a simple majority to become law.

Meetings

Each session of the state legislature lasts for two years, starting in each odd year, called a biennium. Each annual session lasts for 60 working days, beginning on the third Wednesday of January.

The practical effect of having a two-year session is that any bill introduced in the first (odd) year which does not pass may be considered in the second year at the point in the process where its progress stopped. At the end of the biennium period, however, all bills that did not pass the legislature die and to be considered must be reintroduced anew in the following session.

The Hawaii State Legislature moved to the Hawaii State Capitol in downtown Honolulu on March 15, 1969. The legislature moved temporarily to adjacent downtown facilities when the Capitol was closed for four years in the 1990s for asbestos removal. The legislature moved back to the Capitol for the 1996 session. Prior to Governor John A. Burns's decision to build the new Capitol building, the Hawaii State Legislature met in Iolani Palace.

Role in state budget

Main article: Hawaii state budget

By the end of December of every other year, the Legislature of Alabama receives an biennial budget proposal from the Governor. The annual budget proposal is for the next two fiscal year, which begin on July 1st. The Legislature then revises this budget over the course of the next couple of months. In April or May, the Legislature votes on a budget. For a budget to pass, a majority of legislatures must vote in support of it ^[1]

The Legislature of Hawaii has not been able to pass a balanced budget. Because of some serious challenges, officials think, Hawaii will continue to pile up debt even if they spend prudently. Gov. Lingle stated in late September 2009, “Through various prudent spending restrictions, the Administration has reduced spending by $2 billion. However, we still face a $496 million shortfall in the next nine months and an additional $529 million from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011. That’s a total of $1.024 billion less money we will have in the next 21 months. Because of the huge revenue losses between fiscal years 2009 and 2011, it will take until fiscal year 2012 for our revenues to return to pre-recession levels.” ^[2]

Senate

The Hawaii State Senate is the upper chamber of the Hawaii State Legislature. There are twenty-five members from various electoral districts. It is led by the President of the Senate elected from the membership of the Senate. The forerunner of the Hawaii State Senate during the government of the Kingdom of Hawaii was the House of Nobles. Senators are elected to four-year terms and are not subject to term limits. Like in most state legislatures in the United States, the Hawaii State Senate is a part-time body and senators often have active careers outside of government.

The current make-up is 23 Democrats and 2 Republicans.

House

The Hawaii House of Representatives is the lower house of the Hawaii State Legislature. The House consists of 51 members representing an equal amount of districts across the islands. It is led by the Speaker of the House elected from the membership of the House.

Legislators are elected to two-year terms and are not subject to term limits. Like in most state legislatures in the United States, the Hawaii House of Representatives is a part-time body and legislators often have active careers outside of government.

The current make-up is 46 Democrats and 5 Republicans.

Rights and responsibilities

Constitutional amendments

Main article: Amending state constitutions

Under Article XVII of the Hawaii Constitution, the state legislature can propose legislatively-referred constitutional amendments under these conditions:

• Through a two-thirds vote in both the Hawaii Senate and the Hawaii House of Representatives, held in one legislative session.
• Through a simple majority vote in both chambers, held in two successive sessions of the legislature.
• Any such proposed amendments must then be placed on a statewide ballot, where they can be approved under these conditions:

If approved by a majority of all the votes tallied upon the question if this majority constitutes at least 50% of the total vote cast at the election, or,

If approved at a special election by a majority of all the votes tallied upon the question, if this majority consists of at least 30% of the total number of registered voters in the state at that time.

External links

• Hawaii State Legislature
• Hawaii State Legislature Legislative Reference Bureau
• Hawaii State House of Representatives
• Hawaii State Senate

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