The Demise of Gut and Replace (Talking Tax)

Published: Nov. 11, 2021, 3:11 a.m.

A Rumor Greatly Exaggerated.  The host for this show is Jay Fidell.  The guest is Tom Yamachika.  
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\nOn November 4, the Supreme Court of Hawaii released its decision in League of Women Voters v. State.  The decision was a huge step in the right direction.  But will it get rid of all gut-and-replaces and eliminate Frankenbills (where pieces of dead bills get new life by stuffing them into tangentially related other bills with a suitable title)?  Probably not.  Amendments are still allowed.  A person challenging a bill still needs to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the bill is unconstitutional.  And remember, it took a 3-2 vote to hold that recidivism and hurricane shelters are unrelated.  The standard the court seems to be adopting is \u201cwhether the amendments and the original bill constitute a unifying scheme to accomplish a single purpose.\u201d  Determining what is or is not germane is not going to be easy in most cases.
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