Bill Text: HI HB2205 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Taxation; constitutional amendment
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 6-2)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-23 - (H) Referred to JUD, FIN, referral sheet 6 [HB2205 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2012-HB2205-Introduced.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
2205 |
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TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
proposing an amendment to article III, section 15, of the hawaii state constitution to enact a supermajority voting requirement for passage of legislation proposing to raise or create taxes or fees.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that control of government spending is a crucial element in a democratic government that governs by the consent of the governed. In a democratic republic, it is the people who are the ultimate authority in determining the expenditures of their government and the extent to which they themselves shall be taxed.
The responsible stewardship of the people's resources requires that the people's elected representatives be disinclined to increase the people's tax burdens without a fuller consideration and justification. The power to increase taxes is one of the most important powers of the legislature, and this ability to extract and redistribute the resources of the people is a responsibility that should be held to a higher standard.
The legislature also finds that the permanent nature of taxation merits heightened scrutiny and a supermajority requirement is needed to give more voice to the taxpayers who will be taxed.
The legislature also recognizes that taxation has far-reaching effects throughout society, yet can be manipulated by special interest groups. Polls attest to the public's belief that special interest lobbying dominates public policy-making within the government, and that special interest groups exert their influence to persuade legislators to enact policies that tax them more lightly than the rest of the electorate. A supermajority requirement would place limits on such practices.
The purpose of this Act is to propose an amendment to Article III, section 15, of the Constitution of the state of Hawaii to enact a two-thirds supermajority requirement for passage of legislation proposing to raise or create either taxes or fees.
SECTION 2. Article III, section 15, of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii is amended to read as follows:
"PASSAGE OF BILLS
Section 15. No bill shall become law unless it shall pass three readings in each house on separate days. No bill shall pass third or final reading in either house unless printed copies of the bill in the form to be passed shall have been made available to the members of that house for at least forty-eight hours.
Every bill when passed by the house in which it originated, or in which amendments thereto shall have originated, shall immediately be certified by the presiding officer and clerk and sent to the other house for consideration.
Any bill pending at the final adjournment of a regular session in an odd-numbered year shall carry over with the same status to the next regular session. Before the carried-over bill is enacted, it shall pass at least one reading in the house in which the bill originated.
Passage of legislation proposing to increase the rates for any tax collected by the State or to enact a new tax shall require a two-thirds vote of all members to which each house is entitled. Passage of legislation proposing to increase fees or to create new fees that are charged by the State or any agency or entity controlled by the State shall require a two-thirds vote of all members to which each house is entitled."
SECTION 3. The question to be printed on the ballot shall be as follows:
"Shall the Constitution be amended to include a two-thirds supermajority voting requirement for the legislature to pass laws increasing or creating taxes or fees?"
SECTION 4. New constitutional material is underscored.
SECTION 5. This amendment shall take effect upon compliance with Article XVII, section 3, of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
Taxation; constitutional amendment
Description:
Proposes a constitutional amendment to include a two-thirds supermajority voting requirement for the legislature to pass laws that increase or create taxes and fees.
The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
