3 states face constitutional redo

[October 27, 2008]  HONOLULU (AP) -- Presidential candidate Barack Obama may be running on change but some residents of his home state don't want to shake up things too much.

A ballot proposal to call a constitutional convention in Hawaii is raising fears it could have unexpected results, perhaps weakening unions or reducing the country's only recognition of Native Hawaiian rights, and that its multimillion-dollar cost would come at the expense of other public programs in a tough economic time.

Hawaii is one of three states proposing a constitutional convention this election year. In Connecticut, opponents of gay marriage hope a convention will help override a state Supreme Court decision allowing same-sex couples to wed. Illinois voters are pushing for a convention to address ethics reform, school funding and the state pension system.

Critics of the process say constitutional conventions often have unforeseen consequences beyond the scope of the convention's original purpose. It's been 22 years since the last time any state -- Rhode Island -- rewrote the basic document of state government.

In Hawaii, the majority Democrat anti-convention group Hawaii Alliance, largely made up of unions and teachers, argues that a convention's unpredictable results and high costs are too dangerous in a time of deep budget cuts.

"You have no idea what kind of horse trading might go on, and some of the good things in the constitution might go by the wayside," said Roger Takabayashi, president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association. "Money needs to be better spent elsewhere."

Critics point out that -- unlike other states -- there's no central crisis or issue in Hawaii that would form the focus of a constitutional convention.

But supporters have a laundry list of problems that they say a convention could fix. They list education, health care reform, local control and term limits as issues elected lawmakers have failed to solve.

"In this season where 'change' is the byword, it's ironic that those against a constitutional convention stand squarely against the possibility of change in our government," said Mark Spengler of the group It's Time Hawaii. "It seems to be more a campaign of fear."

Both Connecticut and Illinois ask voters whether to hold a constitutional convention every 20 years. Since 1961, 17 states have held conventions, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Hawaii state law requires that a constitutional convention be considered at least once per decade, but it's been 30 years since the state last held one.

The 1978 Hawaii convention was considered a revolutionary step for the islands because it institutionalized a right to privacy, established Hawaiian as an official language, set up the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, imposed environmental protections and set a ceiling on state spending.

Holding another constitutional convention today would put many of those provisions in jeopardy and potentially erode collective bargaining and pension rights, said Flo Kong Kee, executive director of the Hawaii Alliance.

"Let's not put things at risk unnecessarily," Kong Kee said. "This is the wrong time, there's not a need for it, there's no compelling reason and it costs too much."

Republican Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona, who has spearheaded support for the convention, put together a task force that estimated the cost of a convention at under $10 million. Democrats asked the Legislative Reference Bureau for a competing estimate, which projected as much as $42 million.

The Hawaii Alliance has paid for TV ads and radio spots with a $350,000 donation from the National Educational Association Ballot Measure Fund and $10,000 each from the Hawaii Government Employees Association, the Hawaii State Teachers Association and the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly.

"The ad campaign to vote 'no' is pretty negative and scary," said Rep. Barbara Marumoto, a Republican who was a delegate to the 1978 convention.

"They're saying 'You're going to lose this, you're going to lose that,' and I don't think that's necessarily the case," she said. "A lot of good things could come out of this."

The constitutional convention ballot question faces one final challenge to pass. The last time voters were asked about a convention a slight majority approved, but the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled in 1997 that blank votes should be counted as "no" votes.

The court's decision resulted in Hawaii not holding a constitutional convention even though more people voted for it than against it.

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On the Net:

Hawaii Alliance: http://www.hawaiialliance.org/

It's Time Hawaii: http://itstimehawaii.com/

[Associated Press; By MARK NIESSE]

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