2004-04 Council Term Limits Article III, Section 3-2, Hawaii County Charter

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AN ORDINANCE TO INITIATE A CHARTER AMENDMENT TO SECTION 3-2, ARTICLE III OF THE HAWAII COUNTY CHARTER RELATING TO COMPOSITION AND TERMS OF THE HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII: SECTION 1. Purpose. Section 3-1, Article III of the Hawaii County Charter states, the legislative powers of the county shall be vested in the county council. Its primary function shall be legislation and public policy formulation. These responsibilities include dedicated research,continual public input, institutional knowledge of county government and its budget,and careful policy determination; as a result, the decision-making process or legislative oversight for certain measures may take months and, sometimes, years. During election years, measures may be neglected or deferred and only subsequently resurface among newly elected council members. To ensure continuity and stability in the legislative branch,terms of council members should be longer. Therefore,the Hawaii County Council fords it necessary to change the current limit of four consecutive two year terms to two consecutive four year terms. SECTION 2. Section 3-2,Article III of the Hawaii County Charter relating to the composition and terms of the County Council is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 3-2. Composition and Terms. There shall be a county council composed of nine members. One member shall be elected from each of nine districts. The terms of the council members shall be [two]fm years and shall begin at twelve o'clock meridian on the first Monday of December after the election. The terms of the council members shall not exceed [four] two consecutive [two] four year terms. Candidates shall be nominated and elected in accordance with the election laws of the State." SECTION 3. Material to be repealed is bracketed. New material is underscored. SECTION 4. If any portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the ordinance which can be given effect without the provision of the application, and to this end, the provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable. SECTION 5. The Council acknowledges the term limits charter amendment approved by the voters in the 1996 general election and finds that the effective date of this provision shall be twelve o'clock meridian on the first Monday of December, 1996. Adoption of this ordinance and conversion to four year terms of office beginning in the year 2000, if approved by the voters in the 1998 general election, will uphold the spirit and intent of existing term limitations not to exceed eight consecutive years in office.