Some proposed bills will die quiet deaths in the Hawaii Legislature on Friday, most of them without receiving a single committee hearing.

It’s called “First Lateral” and it’s the deadline for bills with multiple referrals to reach their final committee.

A couple of soon-to-expire measures were good-government bills that deserved better. A couple of others were attempts to decrease government transparency — good riddance to those.

Other reform measures are on life-support, about to expire in one chamber but with companion bills still clinging to life in the other chamber where they were referred to a single committee instead of two or more.

Let’s take a closer look at a few of the casualties.

Who Cares About Electronic Media?

Here’s a bill that grabs your attention from the first line: “The legislature finds that the power of a mayor or the governor to suspend the transmission of electronic media during a state of emergency is overly broad and vague.”

It’s true, in an emergency our leaders currently have the power to suspend electronic media.

Senate Bill 2173 goes on to say this blackout could affect “not only all radio and television broadcasts, but also could potentially include text messages, emails, and posts to social media platforms, which would restrain lawful free speech and publication and violate the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.”

The measure proposed to remove this ability from the emergency powers. A similar bill generated widespread support last session.

“FEMA has noted that there is no more reliable source of information during natural disasters than local broadcasters,” stated the Hawaii Association of Broadcasters in written testimony. “In our view, Hawaii has a law on the books that would … potentially cut off a vital lifeline for the public in times of emergency.”

It’s true, in an emergency our leaders currently have the power to suspend electronic media.

And the Big Island Press Club chimed in with this: “The hunger for fact-based information is never higher than during an emergency, and when that information is hard to come by, people will sometimes resort to rumors and speculation. That should be the last thing government would want in a declared emergency.”

Different versions of the bill were approved unanimously by the Senate and House, but it was one of numerous measures that died with no explanation during the shadowy conference committee period at the session’s end.

This time around, neither SB 2173 nor its companion, House Bill 2581, has been scheduled for hearings by their respective committee chairs, Sen. Glenn Wakai and Rep. Linda Ichiyama.

On Friday they expire. What a difference a year makes.

Rough Start For Civic Education

Several measures to increase citizen knowledge of how government works were overwhelmingly popular last session until they ran into the Senate and House money committee chairs, who killed them without a word.

Resistance to civic education measures is continuing this session at least in the Senate Education Committee, where a tie vote killed a measure to require the Legislature’s Public Access Room to establish an outreach program for primary, secondary, post-secondary and community education.

There’s still hope for that concept, however, because a companion measure, House Bill 1587, has cleared its first committee hurtle.

But another civic education measure is on the expiring-Friday list. Senate Bill 2708 would require high schools to select students to serve on their local neighborhood boards or regional community advisory boards.

It was referred initially to a joint Education/Public Safety and Intergovernmental Affairs committee, but the two chairs, Michelle Kidani and Wakai, never scheduled a hearing.

House Bill 2707, ironically, would require that every bill introduced at the Legislature be given a public hearing.

That’s the same fate that typically awaits any measure proposed by the Republicans’ House Minority Caucus. A couple of ill-fated GOP bills this session are of the sunshine variety.

House Bill 1703 proposed a constitutional amendment asking voters if they want to establish legislative term limits. This idea is shot down regularly by Democratic legislative leaders, even though a Civil Beat survey last year found a lot of support for it among rank-and-file legislators.

And House Bill 2707, ironically, would require that every bill introduced at the Legislature be given a public hearing.

Keep An Eye On These

Two key campaign spending bills that are on their death beds in the House this week have companion measures in the Senate. So far the Senate bills don’t have hearings scheduled either, but since they were referred to a single committee they’re still alive.

The state Campaign Spending Commission proposed both measures.

One would prohibit state or county grantees, officers and immediate family members of state or county contractors and grantees, from making campaign contributions for the duration of the contracts.

Supporters of government reform won’t be shedding any tears for a couple of Senate bills that also seem destined to disappear Friday.

The other would eliminate the use of campaign funds to purchase up to two tickets for an event or fundraiser held by another candidate — a sneaky but longstanding means by which legislators with money to spare transfer some of it to their allies.

Keep an eye on Senate Judiciary Chair Karl Rhoads, who has the power to schedule hearings and keep these proposals live.

And remember, there are plenty more reform bills still awaiting hearings in both chambers that are still breathing because they were referred to just one committee. Rhoads has responsibility for some of those too, as does his counterpart, House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Chair David Tarnas.

Sometimes Bad Bills Die, Too

As mentioned up top, supporters of government reform won’t be shedding any tears for a couple of Senate bills that also seem destined to disappear Friday.

Senate Bill 3203, introduced by President Ron Kouchi (“by request of another party”), would weaken the Sunshine Law’s open meeting provisions by specifying actions that could be taken behind closed doors.

And Senate Bill 3256, introduced by Sen. Donna Mercado Kim (“by request of another party”), would apply the state’s open records law to the media. In essence, news organizations would have to answer requests for public records in the same way that government agencies do.

Since this would violate the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, Kim is probably fortunate that her bill won’t be getting a hearing.