Free Hawai`i

HAWAI`I CON-CON - A FIELD DAY FOR SPECIAL INTERESTS LIKE HAWAIIAN TRIBE PROPONENT ROBIN DANNER  & THE CNHA

Honolulu Civil Beat - December 11, 2007 - By Chad Blair

State Sen. Les Ihara, a Democratic state senator, was a delegate to the 1978 Constitutional Convention.

The ’78 Con Con, as it’s called, is perhaps best known for establishing the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

But it also set term limits for governor and lieutenant governor, required an annual balanced budget, recognized Hawaiian as an official state language, formally adopted the state motto, incorporated a right to privacy in the state bill of rights, included the waters surrounding the Hawaii islands as part of the state’s boundaries and established the Judicial Selection Commission, Council on Revenues and Tax Review Commission....

According to a new Civil Beat poll, two-thirds of Hawaii voters (67 percent) surveyed think it’s time for a new constitutional convention. Only 14 percent of those surveyed opposed having a con con.

On Nov. 6, Hawaii voters will have the chance to call for a con con, which would allow citizens to amend the state Constitution without going through the Legislature.

Many Hawaii voters are likely not aware of the constitutional convention question, which goes on the ballot every 10 years. But holding a con con can be consequential....

But as Anne Feder Lee, whose 1993 reference guide “The Hawaii State Constitution” explains in its section on the 1978 Con Con, the convention was wide-ranging in its agenda proposals.

Lee cited sources that argued public interest groups supported a convention because it was “a healthy and democratic device to review basic government organization and procedures.”

But Lee also noted that special interest groups supported a con con in order to have “yet another opportunity to write their platforms into the Constitution.”