2004-03 Council Member Term Limits Article III, Section 3-2, Hawaii County Charter

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The effective date of the 1996 Hawaii County Charter amendment establishing term limitations not to exceed eight consecutive years in county council office is twelve o' clock meridian on the first Monday of December, 1996. Although, as discussed above, there is probably authority to deem a ballot measure effective upon approval if no effective date is stated in the proposal, the Council took additional liberty by asserting the December effective date. Probably without intending to do, the 1996-1998 County Council pointed out the most glaring deficiency of the 1996 amendment by including SECTION 7 in the 1998 Ordinance: Upon approval of the Charter amendment proposed in this ordinance by a majority of voters voting thereon, as duly certified, the provisions of Section 3 of this ordinance shall take effect at twelve o'clock meridian on the first Monday of December after the 1998 election. The contrast between the 1996 amendment and the 1998 -proposed amendment is very stark. A side by side examinaton of both provides conclusive evidence that the 1996 amendment was drafted in an incomplete manner. V. Limitation of Individual Constitutional Rights; Available Remedies This office is empowered to act in accordance with the letter and spirit of the law. However, any law seeking to impose limits on the constitutional rights of individuals must be clearly written. The letter of such a law must be precise and complete. Even if a more expansive reading of the "spirit" of the 1996 amendment may seem clear to some, without explicit authority, this office should not and will not impose Limits on the constitutional rights of individuals. This office can not act merely on the basis of our best guess about the "spirit" of the 1996 amendment, _particularly when that "spirit" was not clearly articulated by the drafters who had numerous opportunities to do so in the normal course of Council action. l' At this time, more than eight years after the term limit provision was drafted, questions relating to the spirit of the law are more appropriately within the province of the courts and the .consciences and intelligence of the candidates and voters. This is especially true when considering the remedies available to all parties. If a person is erroneously kept off the ballot, she or he may not have an adequate remedy once the S �.