Editorial: Drama included Airbnb, A&B bills

The Legislature adjourned on Thursday as it often does, in a flurry of last-minute procedures to dispatch its work, this year totaling 298 bills, to the governor for his consideration.

There may have been more than the usual tension between the chambers, given the discord over controversial legislation to collect taxes from vacation rentals, a measure that passed in far less than ideal form.

There were some incremental advances this session on some key policy goals — election reform, public preschool and changes to the criminal justice system and, in the capital budget, the University of Hawaii secured $282.2 million covering a healthy share of its improvement needs.

But Senate Bill 1292 wasn’t among the hits. It’s like a measure that passed in 2016 but was vetoed by Gov. David Ige, who should reject this one, too.

Long story short: The bill enables vacation rental online brokers such as Airbnb and Expedia to collect the state’s transient accommodations tax and relay that revenue to the state; lawmakers have projected this to yield some $46 million for which it already has spending plans.

The problem with it is the same as its predecessor: SB 1292 lacks a means of compelling the broker to screen rental advertisements and bar those that violate existing county land-use restrictions.

The Honolulu City Council, in particular, has struggled to tighten its regulations against illegal vacation rentals that have proliferated for years, overtaking some neighborhoods, although it now seems closer to approving new rules.

But the cleanest way to enact a taxation mechanism such as this would be to wait until regulation is in place. Otherwise, as the governor has rightly noted, taking tax money has the effect of giving some legitimacy to unauthorized rentals.

The issue blew up at the 11th hour, as Senate leadership decided to pressure the bill’s opponents to switch votes rather than sacrifice other spending proposals that were put on the chopping block. The whole drama exposed the so-called “sausage-making” procedure of passing laws — characteristic, but not admirable.

Where it’s particularly unattractive is in cases where the aim is to rescue a bill that represents bad policy to begin with. House Bill 1552, which heightens prison oversight among other needed changes, should not have been under threat, but it was. Fortunately, it survived the assault.

In some ways, the 2019 session moved more smoothly than usual. The fiscal review was based on what House Finance Chair Sylvia Luke calls “zero-based budgeting,” which compelled departments to defend their spending, putting even previously approved projects up for more robust scrutiny. It didn’t completely stop add-on appropriation bills but it seemed to constrain them, requiring less of the budgetary hammering during the session’s end game.

Here are a few of the other session highs, and lows:

>> Elections — Long-sought changes to voting laws were passed. The big win was approval of a statewide vote-by mail system, starting with the 2020 primary election.

Hawaii voters always have had the option of absentee voting by mail, but expanding that option may boost the state’s appalling voter turnout. The opportunity to vote at limited polling stations will be preserved, for those who prefer that.

Additionally, a measure passed enabling automatic recount in very close elections. If it averts another needless court drama such as what Oahu witnessed in its City Council revote last month, this will be a worthwhile provision.

The disappointment? Automatic voter registration, another measure aimed at boosting Hawaii’s voter engagement, did not make the cut. But the bill, SB 412 is sitting in conference committee; it can sit there through the interim and should be taken up again next session.

>> Water leases — This is another issue that’s almost sure to resurface next January, in Year 2 of the biennium. HB 1326, which would have given a seven-year extension to the revocable water permit issued to Maui landowner Alexander &Baldwin, was also held back.

It’s just as well: The extension would have been wrong-headed, given a court’s ruling to compel long-term water leases to replace the permits.

A&B, which has sold 41,000 of its acreage to Mahi Pono LLC for its agricultural plans, is appealing the ruling and may have to come up with a Plan B. Meanwhile, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources has the wherewithal to make new water arrangements for other Maui interests not affected by the court case.

>> Public preschool — Funds were allotted for 10 new pre-kindergarten classrooms at public schools, as well as 18 charter classrooms on the verge of losing federal funding. It’s short of the governor’s initial goals, but it’s a good down payment.

Now the whole set of proposals moves on to the fifth floor, where the governor must score them on a good-policy scale. The state needs solutions to long-term needs, not more expedient salve for short-term pain.