Lt. Governor to Lead Con Con Task Force
Lt. Governor Aiona is forming an 11-member task force to examine the costs of convening a constitutional convention, or con con, to modernize the Hawai`i State Constitution.
The Lt. Governor will chair the 11-member Constitutional Convention Cost Task Force.
The Constitutional Convention Cost Task Force will convene a series of public meetings and make available its findings in a public report no later than August 1, 2008.
“The decision to convene a constitutional convention is among the most important questions facing voters in the 2008 General Election,” Lt. Governor Aiona said. “The work of this task force will be crucial to ensuring the public has all the facts to make the best decision possible.”
The Constitutional Convention Cost Task Force will be chaired by the Lieutenant Governor and include the State Attorney General, State Comptroller, State Finance Director, Chief Elections Officer, two state senators and state representatives from the majority and minority parties, and two representatives from civic organizations interested in improving government in the State of Hawai‘i.
The task force will consider a range of factors that could affect the overall cost of a constitutional convention. Among them:
- When a constitutional convention would convene and the number of delegates that would participate;
- How an election of delegates could be held in a fair and cost-effective manner, including through the use of mail-in ballots and online voting;
- What public facilities are available to accommodate the general operations of a constitutional convention, including plenary sessions and committee meetings; and
- How the use of technology, including the Internet, telecommunications and video can help enhance the cost-effectiveness of a constitutional convention.
The Hawai‘i State Constitution calls for the convening of a constitutional convention every 10 years, if a majority of the electorate decides to do so.
In December 2007, the Lt. Governor submitted a letter to the Office of Elections, certifying that the question of whether to convene a constitutional convention would be placed on the next general election ballot in November 2008.
The last constitutional convention in Hawai‘i, held in 1978, helped to require an annual balanced budget, establish term limits for the Governor and Lt. Governor, create the Judicial Selection Commission, establish the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and adopt the Hawaiian language as an official state language of Hawai‘i, among other significant accomplishments.
