Out of 274 bills the state Legislature passed this session, Gov. Josh Green has marked 11 bills he intends to veto in a new list.
Among the bills Green intends to veto is one to raise the price of international apostille documents; an "Art in Private Places" pilot program; and House Bill 1090, which would limit commercial recreation permits.
House Speaker Scott Saiki of Oʻahu said that past governors often vetoed dozens of bills.
"Gov. Green did go out of his way to reach out to the Legislature to learn more about these bills," Saiki said Friday. "You know, if he had questions about them, he reached out to us to learn what our intent was, what the purpose of the bill was. I think he really did make an effort to understand why the legislature passed these bills."
The list included Senate Bill 1518, which would exempt the Department of Education from the procurement process for education materials.
Green said the current process is uniform, and should remain the same for state government entities. He said if enacted, it may open unfair advantages to certain vendors.
Another bill would have raised the apostille certification price from $1 to $10, creating a special fund for the money. Apostille are currently issued through the Office of the Lieutenant Governor. It was a measure introduced by Rep. Kyle Yamashita for current lieutenant governor, Sylvia Luke.
Monday morning, Luke said she wanted this bill to help modernize the process and bring it online.
"If people are willing to do it online, they still have the option to mail it or do it in person," Luke said.
"But because there's the online option, the way that we envision is for people to be able to pay either through credit card charges or through e-check, which are not available right now," she told HPR.
In his message, Green said the increase would "disproportionately impact education and community groups" and felt that it was too large of an increase.
In the coming week, Luke said she will continue to push for the measure.
"Just because it's on the list as a potential veto doesn't mean it will be vetoed," Luke said.
"I do appreciate the governor bringing up the fact that it was a cost issue for some people, so that's something that we should have a discussion about. But I think that's the beauty of a bill going through the legislative process is that it gives opportunities for us, for the general public to come and share their concerns," she said.
Another bill would have expunged underage DUIs and some property crime records before 1998 for first-time offenders. The Attorney General said the bill, as it's written, would not be effective since the laws referencing those crimes were enacted after 1998.
HB 1090 would have limited commercial recreation permits on the water by the Department of Land and Natural Resources. There were a few Kekaha boating companies on Kauaʻi that banded together to fight this bill.
Some claimed this would result in the loss of hundreds of jobs if some tour companies had to shut down because they weren't able to secure a permit. Green said that while it's important to regulate commercial ocean use, it needs to be more balanced.
Green had vetoed one bill during the session that would have clarified the time period a condominium association could take action against a developer. Green said it could add costs to housing or delays in construction. On the last day of session, the House and Senate overrode the veto.
House and Senate members will convene separately in the coming weeks to discuss possible overrides. They have until July 11 for that decision.
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