LT. GOVERNOR AIONA SUPPORTS GOVERNOR LINGLE'S VETOES

July 11- Lt. Governor Aiona supported Gov.Linda  Lingle's decision to remove four  bills from her veto list and to urge lawmakers to correct problems with others that could expose the state to lawsuits. He agreed with the governor that changes would allow the Lingle -Aiona Administration to comfortably embrace the measures as sound public policy.

Still, state Legislature Tuesday overrode 11 of the governor's 27 vetoes, a move that Governor Lingle and Lt. Governor Aiona  found disappointing because of the Legislature's seeming "unwillingness to work collaboratively with the Administration to make common sense amendments and simple fixes to bills that will ultimately be subject to legal challenges or will be deemed unconstitutional."

For example, among the bills vetoed by Gov. Lingle and overriden by the state Legislature was SB 932, which creates an offender re-entry system with legislative oversight. The law allows the state to parole prisoners to counties where they may receive the greatest support.

The Lingle-Aiona Administration believes that this bill endangers the well-being of inmates, compromises the safety of the community, exposes the state to costly litigation and provides only a single year of funding for programs with multi-year impact.

This Administration believes that this bill unrealistically requires the Department of Public Safety to return inmates from the Mainland at least one-year prior to their parole or release date to participate in inmate re-entry programs without ensuring adequate facilities to house them and without considering the inmate's completion of rehabilitation programs. The Administration also believes that it establishes unrealistic expectations that inmates will be incarcerated in facilities nearest their families without providing a means to do so.