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A state constitutional convention is uniquely suited to propose amendments that the State Legislature wouldn’t find it in its institutional self interest to propose. That is, it bypasses the gatekeeping power the State Legislature otherwise would have over constitutional amendment.<\/p>\n
Listed below is a sample of potential legislative bypass issues recently in the news in Hawaii and other states.\u00a0 Note that the issues mentioned in the news are only a very small portion of the potential legislative bypass issues, as they are only issues recently in the news. However, the headings below under which the articles are placed provide a general overview of the types of legislative bypass issues a state constitutional convention could address.<\/p>\n
For the article announcing the launch of this page, including a discussion of the politics of legislative bypass issues, see\u00a0Snider, J.H.,\u00a0Why Con-Con Opponents Willfully Ignore Legislative Bypass Issues<\/a>,\u00a0Hawai\u2019i Free Press, October 13, 2018.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n *Support The ConCon \u2014 10 Years Is Too Long To Wait For Another Chance<\/a>, Civil Beat, October 24, 2018. This is the most comprehensive summary of legislative bypass issues a convention could address.<\/strong><\/p>\n If We Want To Fix Hawaii Government We Have To Do It Ourselves<\/a>, Civil Beat, October 18, 2018.<\/p>\n \u00a0ConCon Might Be The Way To Finally Get Election Reform<\/a>, Civil Beat, October 2, 2018.<\/p>\n Adler, Peter, and Jenna Leigh Saito,\u00a0Political Volatility Could Affect Hawaii Constitutional Convention Question<\/a>,\u00a0Civil Beat<\/em>, June 8, 2018.<\/p>\n State Constitutional Convention: Let\u2019s Have The Conversation<\/a>, Civil Beat, September 18, 2018.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Snider, J.H.,\u00a0Want Term Limits? A Con Con Is Your Only Hope<\/a>, Civil Beat, September 21, 2018.<\/p>\n Blair, Chad,\u00a0Civil Beat Poll: Hawaii Voters Seem Ready For A Constitutional Convention<\/a>, Civil Beat, May 25, 2018.<\/p>\n Editorial,\u00a0Constitutional Convention: It May Be Time To Go Over Legislators\u2019 Heads<\/a>, Civil Beat, December 18, 2017<\/p>\n *Blair, Chad,\u00a0Civil Beat Poll: Power To The People \u2014 Voters Want More Control<\/a>, Civil Beat, December 12, 2017,<\/p>\n Blair, Chad,\u00a0Civil Beat Poll: Let\u2019s Have A Constitutional Convention<\/a>, Civil Beat, December 11, 2017,<\/p>\n For a recent out-of-state perspective on elected officials’ opposition to term limits, see Jacob, Paul, When Local Lawmakers Won\u2019t Take No for an Answer<\/a>, Wall Street Journal, November 3, 2018.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n If We Want To Fix Hawaii Government We Have To Do It Ourselves<\/a>, Civil Beat, October 18, 2018.<\/p>\n Groups sue to stop \u2018gut and replace\u2019 at Hawaii Legislature<\/a>, Honolulu Star-Advertiser,\u00a0September 6, 2018.<\/p>\n McAvoy, Audrey, Groups sue to stop ‘gut-and-replace’ at Hawaii legislature<\/a>, Hawaii News Now, September 6, 2018.<\/p>\n Gut and Replace Complaint<\/a>, Civil Beat Law Center for the Public Interest, Common Cause, and League of Women Voters, September 5, 2018.<\/p>\n Epler, Patti, Hawaii Supreme Court To Fine-Tune Open Meetings Law<\/a>, Civil Beat, August 30, 2018.<\/p>\n SB2858 Fails to Meet Constitutional Requirement<\/a>, Hawaii Free Press, May 22, 2018. Reprint of a Hawaii Common Cause and Hawaii League of Women Voters press release.<\/p>\n *Eagel, Nathan, What\u2019s Up With All The Gut-And-Replace Trickery At The Legislature This Year?<\/a>, Civil Beat, April 5, 2018.<\/p>\n Akina, Keli’i, How much privacy for public employees?<\/a>, Grassroots Institute of Hawaii, April 3, 2018.<\/p>\n Yamachika, Tom, Mighty Morphin Power Bills! <\/a>, Civil Beat, April 22, 2018.\u00a0 See also Yamchika’s Legislature Wants To Jack Up Estate Taxes<\/a>, Civil Beat, April 15, 2018.<\/p>\n Akina, Keli\u2019i, State should speed up responses to information requests<\/a>, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, Feb. 23, 2018.<\/p>\n Editorial,\u00a0State Public Records Agency Needs A Hard 6-Month Deadline<\/a>, Civil Beat, Feb. 20, 2018.<\/p>\n Black, Brian, Law Center: Timely Access To Public Information Is Vital<\/a>, Civil Beat, Feb. 16, 2018.<\/p>\n Eagle, Nathan, Report: Public Is Being Shut Out On Critical State Information<\/a>, Civil Beat, Feb. 12, 2018.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Ranked Choice Voting<\/strong><\/p>\n Teague,\u00a0Courtney, Should Hawaii Convert To Ranked Choice Voting?<\/a>, Civil Beat, August 20, 2018.<\/p>\n Palmer, Jesse,\u00a0How To Fix Hawaii\u2019s Broken Democracy<\/a>, Civil Beat, May 21, 2018.<\/p>\n *Palmer, Jesse,\u00a0Let\u2019s Stop Voting For The Lesser Of Two Evils<\/a>, Civic Beat, December 8, 2017.<\/p>\n For a national or multi-state perspective on ranked choice voting, see Ranked Choice Voting in 2018: A Mid-Year Report<\/a>, Fairvote,July 2018; a recent national conference<\/a> on the subject; and stories published in\u00a0NBC News<\/a>,\u00a0USA Today<\/a>,\u00a0The Atlantic<\/a>, Washington Post<\/a>, and New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n For a sample article touching on the legislative bypass nature of the issue with regard to the Maine State Legislature, see Editorial: For better elections, give ranked-choice voting a chanc<\/a>e, Boston Globe, August 7, 2018; Cousins, Christopher, Maine again backs ranked-choice voting<\/a>, Bangor Daily News, June 13, 2018; Shepherd, Michael, Maine\u2019s top court clears way for ranked-choice voting in June<\/a>, Bangor Daily News, April 17, 2018; and Lawrence Jennifer, Yes on #1: Protect Rank Choice Voting in Maine<\/a>, Represent.US, June 5, 2018.<\/p>\n Top-Two Primary (similar to ranked choice voting in the problems it seeks to solve)<\/strong><\/p>\n Teague,\u00a0Courtney,\u00a0Want To Run For Office In Hawaii Without Joining A Political Party? Good Luck<\/a>, Civil Beat, August\u00a0 9,\u00a0 2018.<\/p>\n Shapiro, David, Top-two system offers better choices than party primaries<\/a>, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, June 10, 2018.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n *Ward, Gene, Democracy Soon To Be Gutted By Gerrymandering<\/a>, Civil Beat, March 9, 2018.<\/p>\n For a national or multi-state perspective, see Silver, Josh, Ohioans Just Voted to End Gerrymandering \u2013 And More States Are Lining Up Behind Them<\/a>, Represent.US. May 8, 2018; Drutman, Lee, The Best Way to Fix Gerrymandering Is to Make It Useless<\/a>, New York Times<\/em>, June 19, 2018; Editorial, Do-It-Yourself Legislative Redistricting<\/a>, New York Times, July 21, 2018; Levitt, Justin, “Who Draws the Lines?,” Web page available at\u00a0http:\/\/redistricting.lls.edu\/who.php; Draper, Robert,\u00a0The League of Dangerous Mapmakers<\/a>, The Atlantic<\/em>, October 2012.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Walden, Andrew, Hawaii House Rules Prohibit Staff from Revealing “Illegal or Improper Conduct”<\/a>, Hawaii Free Press,\u00a0November 27, 2017.<\/p>\n For a national perspective, see Shaub, Walter, 13 Proposals for Ethics<\/a>, Campaign Legal Center, May 2018. This summarizes an earlier report<\/a>. These proposals were for the federal government, but they could also apply at a state level. See also\u00a0Shaub, Walter,\u00a0Principles for Designing an Independent Ethics Commission<\/a>,\u00a0Campaign Legal Center, May 2018.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Lovell, Blaze, The Primary Turnout Was Low \u2014 But Not As Low As 2016<\/a>, Civil Beat, August\u00a0 12,\u00a0 2018.<\/p>\n Teague,\u00a0Courtney,\u00a0Want To Run For Office In Hawaii Without Joining A Political Party? Good Luck<\/a>, Civil Beat, August\u00a0 9,\u00a0 2018.<\/p>\n Snider, J.H.,\u00a0Needed: Fresh Eyes to Improve New York\u2019s Constitution\u2013Part 2<\/a>,\u00a0Gotham Gazette, March 10, 2017.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Ryan, Tracy, How To Really Fix Hawaii\u2019s Elections<\/a>, Civil Beat, August 21, 2018.<\/p>\n For a national or multi-state perspective, see Ackerman, Bruce, and Ro Kanna, Here’s a campaign finance law that would take democracy back from the 1 Percent<\/a>, Sacramento Bee, January 29, 2018.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Blair, Chad, Here\u2019s What Residents Of Other States Will Get A Chance To Vote On<\/a>, Civil Beat, October 30, 2018.<\/p>\n Editorial, If We Want To Fix Hawaii Government We Have To Do It Ourselves<\/a>, Civil Beat, October 18, 2018.<\/p>\n Editorial,\u00a0Citizen Initiative: A Tool Hawaii Could Really Use<\/a>, Civil Beat, September 25, 2018.<\/p>\n Editorial,\u00a0Constitutional Convention: It May Be Time To Go Over Legislators\u2019 Heads<\/a>, Civil Beat, December 18, 2017.<\/p>\n Blair, Chad,\u00a0Civil Beat Poll: Power To The People \u2014 Voters Want More Control<\/a>, Civil Beat, December 12, 2017.<\/p>\n Blair, Chad,\u00a0Civil Beat Poll: Let\u2019s Have A Constitutional Convention<\/a>, Civil Beat, December 11, 2017.<\/p>\n Hawaii\u2019s minority leaders push for more power for the people<\/a>, Hawaii Reporter, January 29, 2014.<\/p>\n Initiative and Referendum Revisited<\/a>, League of Women Voters of Hawaii, 2003. Not recent but worthy of note.<\/p>\n Proponents of Initiative Face Uphill Battle<\/a>, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, July 21, 1978.\u00a0Not recent but worthy of note.<\/p>\n For a national or multi-state perspective, see\u00a0Ritchie, Rob, and Kevin Johnson,\u00a0Will voters lead on electoral reform?<\/a>, Fairvote Blog, November 1, 2018; Carney, Eliza Newlin, Democracy Is on the Ballot<\/a>, The American Prospect, October 18, 2018; Williams, Timothy, First Came a Flood of Ballot Measures From Voters. Then Politicians Pushed Back<\/a>, New York Times, October 15, 2018; Wines, Michael, Drive Against Gerrymandering Finds New Life in Ballot Initiatives<\/a>, New York Times, July 23, 2018; Editorial, Do-It-Yourself Legislative Redistricting<\/a>, New York Times, July 21, 2018; and scholarly paper, Matsusaka, John, Special Interest Influence Under Direct Versus Representative Democracy<\/a>, SSRN, June 11, 2018.<\/p>\n Here is a video provided by the Campaign Legal Center about citizen initiatives focused on democratic reform. The text accompany the video can be found at Democracy on the 2018 Ballot: Voters Take on Reform in Their States and Towns<\/a>, Campaign Legal Center, October 3, 2018.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0<\/h3>\n
Legislature Bypass Issue Summaries<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n\u00a0<\/h3>\n
Incumbent Legislator Entrenchment<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Legislative Term Limits<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Legislative Transparency<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Legislative Voting Systems<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Legislative Redistricting<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Legislative Ethics<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Legislative Ballot Access<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Legislative Campaign Finance<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n\u00a0<\/h3>\n
The Power of the Legislature vs.
Other Government Units<\/strong><\/h3>\nThe Citizen Initiative (allows citizens to propose laws independent of the State Legislature)<\/strong><\/h4>\n
![Proponents of Initiative Face Uphill Battle<\/a>, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, July 21, 1978.\u00a0Not recent but worthy of note.<\/p>\nFor a national or multi-state perspective, see\u00a0Ritchie, Rob, and Kevin Johnson,\u00a0Will voters lead on electoral reform?<\/a>, Fairvote Blog, November 1, 2018; Carney, Eliza Newlin, Democracy Is on the Ballot<\/a>, The American Prospect, October 18, 2018; Williams, Timothy, First Came a Flood of Ballot Measures From Voters. Then Politicians Pushed Back<\/a>, New York Times, October 15, 2018; Wines, Michael, Drive Against Gerrymandering Finds New Life in Ballot Initiatives<\/a>, New York Times, July 23, 2018; Editorial, Do-It-Yourself Legislative Redistricting<\/a>, New York Times, July 21, 2018; and scholarly paper, Matsusaka, John, Special Interest Influence Under Direct Versus Representative Democracy<\/a>, SSRN, June 11, 2018.<\/p>\nHere is a video provided by the Campaign Legal Center about citizen initiatives focused on democratic reform. The text accompany the video can be found at Democracy on the 2018 Ballot: Voters Take on Reform in Their States and Towns<\/a>, Campaign Legal Center, October 3, 2018.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n](\"https:\/\/hawaii.concon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/GomesLee-ProponentsOfInitiativeFacingUphillBattle-HonoluluStar-Bulletin-21July1978.png\"){kind=link}