HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOMM. 217 Goodenow, K - CA-17 Reapportionment KENNETH G. GOODENOW
County Clerk
County of Hawai‘i
Office of the County Clerk
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720
Telephone: (808) 961-8255
Facsimile: (808) 961-8912
RODNEY OSHIRO
Deputy County Clerk
February 11, 2010
Edmund Hiatsuka, Chairman,
and Members of the Hawai’i County Charter Commission
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, Hawai’i 96720
RE: Testimony on Charter Amendment Proposal CA-17
Dear Chairman Hiatsuka and Commission Members:
Thank you for the opportunity to provide information on proposed Charter
amendment CA-17 which would amend section 3-17 “County Reapportionment
Commission” Article III “Legislative Branch Council”.
While our office takes no position on the changes to Section 3-17, we provide the
following four points of information:
1) Charter amendment CA-17 reads:
Section 1. Article III, section 3-17, Hawaii County Charter, is amended to read as
follows, with added language underscored and deleted language bracketed and
stricken through:
“Section 3-17 County Redistricting Commission (d)”
The year 1991 and every tenth year thereafter shall be [reapportionment]
redistricting years. The [reapportionment] redistricting commission shall be
appointed and confirmed by [March 1 of the reapportionment year] July 1 of the
year immediately preceding the redistricting year, and shall file a
[reapportionment] redistricting plan with the county clerk by December 31 of
the [reapportionment] redistricting year. A report shall be filed with the
redistricting plan providing an explanation of the commission’s reasoning for the
plan and how the plan complies with the criteria provided in Section 3-17(g). The
[reapportionment] redistricting commission shall be dissolved after the filing of
the [reapportionment] redistricting plan.
Edmund Hiatsuka, Chair,
and Members of the Hawai‘i County Charter Commission
February 11, 2010
Page 2
Although the intent of the amendment is to provide the commission more time to
complete their work, the necessary census data for redistricting is not available to the
County until the second week of March of the reapportionment year.
2) Lengthening the time period that commissioners meet may increase costs. For the
seven months that the Reapportionment Commission met in 2001 the following expenses
were incurred:
Commission Secretary Salary and Wages: $16,694.69
Mileage and Hotel Charges: $ 3,164.71
Other Expenses: $27, 110.29
TOTAL: $46,969.69
3) The effective date of CA-17 is upon approval of the electorate. As this would be
after July 1, 2010, the effective date should be amended.
4) Charter amendment CA-17 also reads:
“Section 3-17 County Redistricting Commission (g)”
The [reapportionment] redistricting commission shall [be guided] adhere
to the following criteria in establishing the boundaries of the council districts:
(1) No district shall be drawn to unduly favor or penalize a person or political
faction;
(2) Insofar as possible, districts should be contiguous and compact;
(3) District lines shall, where possible, follow permanent and easily
recognizable features;
(4) Districts shall have approximately equal resident populations as required
by applicable constitutional provisions.
While there seems to be little legal significance between being “guided” and
“adhering” to the guidelines provided, we note that the State Reapportionment
Commission in fulfilling their duties uses the term “guided” opposed to “adhere” and that
Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 25 (Reapportionment)25-2 Duties, (b) states:
Serving the Interests of the People of Our Island
Hawai‘i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer
Edmund Hiatsuka, Chair,
and Members of the Hawai‘i County Charter Commission
February 11, 2010
Page 3
“In effecting the reapportionment and districting, the commission shall be guided
by the following criteria:”
Thank you for the opportunity to provide the above information.
Sincerely,
KENNETH G. GOODENOW
Serving the Interests of the People of Our Island
Hawai‘i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer