Voters Tuesday approved three proposed state constitutional amendments and the sole Hawaii County charter amendment.
The county charter amendment on the ballot pertained to the term of the county clerk. With a 34,561 to 11,034 vote, the appointment is now four years instead of two and the County Council has the authority to remove the county clerk from office by a two-thirds vote of its membership.
Of the five proposed state constitutional amendments considered during the General Election, the most controversial was the one allowing public money to pay for private early childhood education programs, which voters rejected 176,748 to 148,255. Hawaii remains the only state with a constitution that bars public funds from going to private preschools.
Voters defeated a proposed state constitutional amendment that sought to increase the mandatory retirement age for all Hawaii court justices and judges from age 70 to 80. It failed on a 247,765 to 75,205 vote.
On the other hand, the state constitutional amendment requiring public disclosure of the finalists for judgeship overwhelming passed, with a 279,011 to 38,290 vote.
The last two state initiatives on the ballot asked voters to decide using special purpose revenue bonds for agricultural enterprises, as well as dams and reservoirs. Special revenue bonds are financial instruments that allow private-sector enterprises approved by the Legislature to borrow money under better interest rates and terms than they otherwise would be able to.
Voters favored the constitutional amendment authorizing the state to issue special purpose revenue bonds and use the bond proceeds to assist agricultural enterprises on any type of land, rather than only important agricultural lands. It passed with a 170,678 to 140,796 vote.
The state is also now authorized to issue special purpose revenue bonds and use the bond proceeds to offer loans to qualifying dam and reservoir owners to improve their facilities to protect public safety and provide significant benefits to the general public as important water sources. This state constitutional amendment garnered 215,783 votes in favor and 98,037 votes in opposition.
