Hawaii- Governor Announces Plans to Veto Bad Bail Reform Bill

 

Hawaii Gov. David Ige announced the bills that are on his Intent to Veto list and which ones he signed into law.

There were 343 bills passed during the 2022 Hawaii Legislative session, and the governor intends to veto 30 bills, including one on bail reform. The announcement was made in a news conference on Monday, June 27.

The governor added that the 30 bills on his list does not mean it is guaranteed to be vetoed, but he cannot veto measures that are not listed. He has until July 12 to make his final decisions on whether these bills will be vetoed or become law.

The governor said after listening to a lot of concerns from the community, he plans to veto the controversial bail reform bill. That’s a relief for all four county mayors and law enforcement leaders who had urged the governor to veto the bill.

The bill approved by state lawmakers would have allowed those arrested for non-violent crimes, including Class C felonies to be released without bail. Many of those who wanted the governor to veto it say it would leave no consequences for those who commit such crimes, and the governor seems to agree.

“Once they know that they cannot be held for any reason for certain violations, that there would be a constant revolving door in some situations,” said Gov. David Ige.

Ige also shared concerns that among those who can be released without bail are those who commit Class C felonies.

“The concerns that I hear on a number of fronts is the expansion to prohibit bail for Class C felonies,” he said.

The mayors were joined by Honolulu Prosecutor Steve Alm, the police officers union, and other law enforcement leaders when they held a news conference asking the governor to veto the proposal. And they are relieved by the announcement.

“We already have the situation where judges are letting most of these people go. This will protect our victims in the state from a further decaying of the criminal justice system,” said Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth.

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi sent a statement saying, “We appreciate his understanding of why this legislation was not well conceived, especially with respect to protecting innocent people in our communities.”

State lawmakers plan to meet on Tuesday to discuss which bills they plan to override but a key lawmaker said, as far as the bail reform bill, they don’t have the numbers to do that.

“I’m a little skeptical that we’ll go in to override anything, and I don’t think the votes are there to override this one anyway,” said Sen. Karl Rhoads, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The legislature would need a two-thirds majority in both the House and the Senate to override.

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