Shivani Gadhavi –
Published on: November 05, 2021 at 15:43 IST
The Hawaii Supreme Court on 5th of November 2021 ended the Hawaiian Legislature’s maneuver of ‘Gut and Replace’ stating, “The Legislature should not be allowed to gut the contents of a Bill and replace it with new provisions, sometimes unrelated to the original Bill, because the practice ‘discourages public confidence and participation.”
” The ruling gives guidelines and guides rails for the Legislature going forward,” said Sandy Ma who is the Executive Director of Common Cause Hawaii and one of the Petitioners alongside the League of Women Voters of Honolulu. “Amendments have to be germane, and a bill has to have three readings, which is really just what the constitution says. Just follow the constitution.”
The Plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of the Gut and Replace scheme as it involves the advancement of the hurricane shelter bill, named “A Bill for an Act Relating Public Safety” also known as Act 84.
The change in the Bill came with a new unrelated language requiring hurricane shelter space in new state buildings, without three separate hearings in the statehouse and the senate, which makes it unconstitutional and irrelevant.
The ruling of the Supreme Court split into 3-2, with Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald being in the minority. The decision comes in favour of the plaintiffs as opposed to the decision given by Circuit Court.
The ruling negates the 2018 law, applies to all the future Bills that would be proposed by the legislature but not applies to previous laws that used Gut and Replace. The ‘Gut and Replace’ scheme was a common legislative tool used by Hawaiian lawmakers.
Also Read: Blue Origin’s challenge to SpaceX’s NASA Moon Contract Rejected
International Criminal Court to investigate abuses in Venezuela
