Lawmakers near deadline for bills

A judicial retirement bill appears to have enough support within the Senate

Senate lawmakers are expected to approve a measure that would let voters decide whether to raise the mandatory retirement age for judges as the Legislature approaches its first major deadline of the 2008 session.

Other bills being voted on today include a proposal that would have Hawaii join other states that wish to abandon the Electoral College in favor of selecting the president via the popular vote, and one to amend reporting requirements for the oil industry in Hawaii.

Thursday is the day by which the House and Senate must complete work on their bills before exchanging them for further debate and crafting.

The judicial retirement bill is in the Senate. A similar proposal in the House died, and House leaders say they are awaiting the Senate version to continue discussion on the matter.

Senate Bill 3202 would ask voters to decide whether to raise the mandatory retirement age for judges to 80 from 70. It comes two years after voters rejected a move to raise the mandatory retirement age altogether.

Supporters say the proposal aims to address the issue of age discrimination. Opponents, including Attorney General Mark Bennett, contend it is a way for majority Democrats to prevent Republican Gov. Linda Lingle from naming a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Ronald Moon, who turns 70 in 2010, Lingle's last year in office.

Some supporters have suggested a compromise, in which any new age limit applies only to judges appointed after the law goes into effect.

The gasoline price monitoring bill, SB 2630, also is in the Senate. It proposes to have the Public Utilities Commission analyze and publish more specific information collected from the state's oil industry.

The PUC does publish some data, under a law funded last year, but the weekly reports have been criticized as misleading for including, and excluding, certain price information that could potentially distort the averages.

Both chambers are likely to advance a measure known as the "National Popular Vote Bill."

The proposals, HB 3013 and SB 2898, would have states conduct a popular election for president and do away with the current Electoral College system. Such a process would only happen if a majority of states approved similar legislation. To date, only Maryland and New Jersey have passed such laws.