article top
By Michael Palcic – Both legislators and the public in Hawaii should pay close attention and act upon the very first words of our state constitution.
Article I, Section 1, of the Hawaii Constitution states: “All political power of this State is inherent in the people and the responsibility for the exercise thereof rests with the people. All government is founded on this authority.”
People have the responsibility and possess the power to influence the direction of governance. Legislators should allow room for constitutionally mandated public decision making.
Every other state in the union has at least one of the following: recall, referendum, initiative or term limits. Many states have multiples. Hawaii has none.
The legislature should let the people decide on these questions. Bills for constitutional amendments to enable these provisions are now before the legislature. These bills deserve to be passed so that the questions may be placed on the 2014 election ballot.
Let the people decide. If the people of Hawaii vote to empower themselves to recall an elected official, to initiate or revoke laws on their own, or to limit the terms of service of government officials, the legislature should not stand in the way.
Government seems to have gotten very bossy in recent times. Perhaps elected officials need to give more consideration to the restraint of government power and bureaucratic control. And, yes, let the people decide.
Comments
bottom
Megadittoes Mike
Hawaii needs term limits. Two terms and you are out.
Career politicians are nothing more than parasites living off the public dime.
Does this enthusiasm for initiative and referendum as a mechanism for the people to express their wishes extend to allowing them to have a say in land use decisions as well?
Comments are closed.