New members can help HART board

The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) convened its Nov. 6 board meeting with four additional members — watchdogs sent by the Legislature to keep an eye on the city’s massively over-budget rail transit project.

The outcome was, quite literally, inconclusive. The expansion of the board — from 10 members to 14 — also increased the quorum requirements. As a result, several key votes could not be taken, including one for a nearly $18 million change order because two voting members had to leave the meeting early, according to HART spokesman Bill Brennan.

This logistical problem was anticipated when the Legislature passed Senate Bill 4, now Act 1, in a special session in August. The problem needs to be fixed, but without losing the new members.

Act 1 bailed out the cash-strapped rail project with a $2.5 billion infusion, comprised of a three-year extension of a 0.5 percent general excise tax surcharge on Oahu and a piece of transient accommodations tax (TAT) revenues.

In exchange, the state gained increased oversight of the project, including an audit, a close review and certification of expenditures, and four members on the HART board, two chosen by the House speaker and two by the Senate president.

Mayor Kirk Caldwell had made essentially two arguments against expanding the HART board: first, that it conflicted with the City Charter and violated the state Constitution’s principle of “home rule,” and second, that it would interfere with the board’s ability to conduct business.

His first argument is weak; his second one has merit.

The state Attorney General’s Office makes a persuasive case that Act 1 is constitutionally sound:

>> The Legislature has an interest in ensuring the appropriate use of state funds and can pass a law that does so, “notwithstanding any law, charter provision, or ordinance to the contrary” — to quote Act 1.

>> While Article VIII of the state Constitution provides self-governing authority to counties, it also provides that “this article shall not limit the power of the Legislature to enact laws of statewide concern,” which could include oversight of projects substantially funded with state money. Also, the new members are non-voting and ex-officio, making it “difficult to prove an actionable injury by their addition” to the HART board.

In any case, the addition of four financial experts — Wesley Machida, Kalbert Young, Kamani Kuala‘au and Tobias “Toby” Martin — is simply a good idea.

They should be, as independent advocates for the public, pushing for responsible spending and careful management of a project that has nearly doubled in cost, from about $5 billion to possibly $10 billion. And even Caldwell and HART officials have acknowledged that the new members can be an asset in guiding the rail project.

Let’s hope for that and more. The rail project is entering a critical phase, with planning for the final, most difficult city center segment. Moreover, the agenda for today’s board meeting includes consideration of planning for the “locally preferred alternative,” which would take rail to the University of Hawaii at Manoa — an ambitious notion, since the Federal Transit Administration hasn’t yet signed off on HART’s recovery plan to complete the project to Ala Moana.

It’s critical that the HART board operate efficiently and effectively, with a manageable quorum and reasonable accommodations for members who may not be able to make every meeting.

To that end, Caldwell has proposed amending the City Charter to conform to Act 1 and to clarify the quorum rule for the HART board only, so a quorum could be fewer than the normal “majority of the entire membership.” The Council should give that proposal serious consideration, and approve a measure that can be placed before the voters in the November 2018 general election.

Of course, the HART board can’t wait a full year to be efficient and effective. It needs to deal with the new reality now.