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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.R. NO. |
164 |
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THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the rules of the Hawaii State House of Representatives are an agreement all members make regarding how they conduct themselves while doing legislative business; and
WHEREAS, while these rules allow for the current
fulfillment of the body’s duties, there is much room for reform as it comes to
mandating heightened decorum and the adoption of true democratic processes; and
WHEREAS, in 2022 two legislators in leadership positions pled guilty to corruption, with one infamously known to brag he could kill a bill any time he wanted; and
WHEREAS,
it has been said that “absolute power corrupts absolutely”, but the House Rules
themselves bestow high levels of power concentration onto a select group of
representatives; and
WHEREAS, particularly, the
ability for a committee chair to unilaterally determine whether legislation
will be deferred without a vote by all members of a committee is in stark
contrast to the representative democratic principles on which the Hawaii State
Legislature was established; and
WHEREAS, the recommendation to
recommit has increasingly been used to stall legislation as opposed to keeping
it active, often eliminating the ability for members to vote on typically
controversial matters and mask their stance by instead being asked to vote
simply on procedure; and
WHEREAS,
while disagreement is inherent in all debate, members have been known to misuse
mechanisms meant to maintain decorum in a manner that instead merely interrupt
speech due to differences of opinion, on no grounds of actual rules violation;
now, therefore,
BE IT
RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-third Legislature of the
State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, that the Hawaii State House of
Representatives is urged to adopt rules changes that foster decorum and
strengthen true democratic principles; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the
House Rules clarify appropriate uses of recommendations to recommit legislation
in order to prevent the practice from being used to stall measures versus
allowing for a vote by members on the legislation’s actual subject matter;
and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the House Rules be amended to have
members refrain from calling point of order or recess when another member is
speaking; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the members of the Hawaii State House of Representatives.
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OFFERED BY: |
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