Paying for Honolulu’s over-budget heavy rail line is starting to look like a scene from a Bruce Willis movie where he grabs a panic-stricken colleague, announcing, "It is time to cowboy up."

House Speaker Joe Souki may not be in the movies, but last week he called out Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell and the City Council.

It is obvious, said Souki, who is starting his 33rd year representing Maui in the state House, that Honolulu’s $5.26 billion rail system will need more tax money.

But, the state Legislature is not going to grant new taxing power without a reason.

"Right now there is $700 million in debt. If they do nothing, it will compound every year. It is not going away. The debt will increase," Souki said in an interview last week.

The state law allows Honolulu to get an extra half of 1 percent of the excise taxes paid in Honolulu to fund rail. The law says the tax increase stops in 2022, but now the city is realizing it will need more money past that date.

"So it is a big gorilla that requires some action to be taken," said Souki.

"The Council must come to the Legislature with the mayor and tell the Legislature that we need this to be repealed," Souki added.

"If the county Council does nothing and just lets it drag, the debt is going to increase," Souki warned.

The Legislature is not going to wade into an issue as controversial as a new tax for rail without a lot of pressure from Caldwell and the Council — and even then it is not something that would get 100 percent support.

"The Council has to recognize that and the mayor has to recognize that and they have to come here together and convince the Legislature, but it is for them to convince," said Souki.

Caldwell has already said he wants the taxing power continued. Council Chairman Ernie Martin adds that he also started the talks.

"I have already been meeting with key people as Speaker Souki advised, to stress the importance of the surcharge," Martin said in an emailed statement.

To add another knot to the complications, Martin said in a statement to the North Shore News that "There is a growing uneasiness between the City Council and the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation."

Martin, a possible candidate for mayor against Caldwell in 2016, also complained that rail information from both Caldwell and HART have been "woefully short on details and frequently largely superficial."

All this unhappiness and mixed messaging worries Souki, saying the estimated $700 million cost overrun is likely to increase 15 percent every year.

"It seems they don’t want to do anything at this point and hope the problem will go away. It is not going away," Souki said.

Today, both the Legislature and Gov. David Ige need complete, unequivocating sentences from the Council and Caldwell, Souki said.

Without a clear message that they want to create a permanent tax on Honolulu residents, the Legislature will not risk it.

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Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.