Editorial: Curbing emergency power

Who’s in charge here? Where COVID-19 is concerned, for much of the past two years, it’s been Gov. David Ige. From March 2020 to the end of November 2021, the pandemic has been navigated through his executive authority to issue emergency proclamations.

This kind of power is necessary for dealing with disasters of all kinds, including one directed by a microscopic pathogen. As the public health threat zigged and zagged with each mutation of the virus, it became obvious why it’s much more practical to have someone at the helm who can respond to changing conditions more quickly than a lumbering cohort of 76 lawmakers.

But when the “emergency” authority extends months and years, it is reasonable to have guardrails on authority in place.

Lawmakers considered but ultimately shelved a proposal to limit the authority in the 2021 session. But House and Senate leaders are resolving to pick up the issue again, to provide a means for legislators to cancel an executive order by the governor, in whole or in part.

To do that, each chamber of the Legislature would have to vote for the change by a two-thirds vote. It makes sense to raise the bar that high. If a governor is abusing authority, or a specific restriction has worn out its welcome, it should be possible to get a sizable majority on board for an override.

For example, Ige’s suspension of the state Sunshine Law, governing public meetings, was defensible at the outset, due to widespread uncertainty over convening remote sessions when the state was in lockdown.

In relatively short order, however public agencies and the people they served had managed to adapt, and there was every reason to end the suspension, in the interest of open government.

House Speaker Scott Saiki said lawmakers cited problems and public confusion when, for example, state and county policies were in conflict. A way to rectify that would help.

“I would hope that we can use that at a time when an order has gone on for too long and is creating confusion,” he told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Spotlight Hawaii webcast.

The Legislature should take up the issue, not because of anything Ige has done, but with an eye to the future. American governance is built on checks and balances. COVID-19 has proven that principle should apply to emergency orders, too.