An issue that has hit the news lately is the cost of a potential ConCon. Two different studies on that issue were recently released; one done by the Constitutional Convention Cost Task force, headed by Lt. Gov Duke Aiona and composed of a cross-section of Republicans, Democrats, neutral pruvate agencies, and state agencies, and the other done by the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB), the nonpartisan research and drafting agency of the state legislature.
The Lt. Governor's report, "Projecting the Cost of a Constitutional Convention in Hawaii: Final Report," which came out on August 1, 2008,
The two studies list a different range of costs. The Lt. Governorn's range is $2,329,656 to 11,114,045. The LRB study,"Cost Estimates for a Constitutional Convention," which came out later in August, has a range from $6,936,778 to $45,145,198 (in 2010 dollars).
The LRB's study has the advantage of being done by professional researchers, and of having access to the Lt. Governor's (LG's) study for comparison purposes. The LRB study is able, for example, to not only cite its own research and findings in an area such as ConCon facilities, but to comment on the assumptions that the LG's study made. For just one example, while the LG's study gives a cost estimate for the Department of Defense's 298th Regiment Regional Training Institute in Waimanalo, the LRB study gives a more nuanced evaluation of the space, which has only "6 small (cap. 30) and 2 large (cap. 50) classrooms. Additionally, there is an auditorium with a seating capacity of about 252." The LRB study also includes a warning from the DOD that this space may not be available at all.
The LG's study is 44 pages while the LRB's, which examines more variations and projections in data than the LG's study, is 98 pages of text. I recommend reading both to get an idea of what factors were considered, the reality of those projections, and also, what factors both studies say they did not factor into these totals, such as the cost of the elections.
Is cost the main question we should be asking ourselves, however? Or should it be whether we need a ConCon at all? To the extent we determine we do, how much should cost really be a factor?
Here's a link to the Lt. Gov's page with the report (it's in pdf format):
http://hawaii.gov/ltgov/concon
, also in pdf format
Here's a link to the page with the LRB report:
http://hawaii.gov/lrb/reports/2008.html
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3 comments:
I agree cost should not be the determining factor if a ConCon is in fact warranted. I think the bigger question is what are the over-riding issues for change on the table that need addressing that justifies the "bit scary cost", given the current economic crunch. I was really on the fence as to yes or no. Even after reading a number of articles with pros and cons of why yes or why no, I really didn't come away with any overpowering reason to say yes (even though I wanted to because that is our democratic right). With the economic market being in the state that it is, the projected financial expediture (such a wide swing range for potential cost)really makes me uneasy. I hope to hear over the next weeks before casting the ballot more definitive points of view regarding the issues/changes that need addressing via a ConCon, otherwise I am still a bit in the dark.
I don't think the reason why I cite the cost is merely financial. My worry is that there will be no consensus and no changes will be made.
Regarding the amount known, I find the advertisements made on television easy. Each faction is making a commercial, and put together, someone can come up with an idea of the whole.
*please change easy to intriguing.
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