Last year, the House Republicans fought for the proper use of the waiver of the 48-hour public notice to hear bills in the state House. Although we did not achieve a rule change, what we did achieve was a change in the majority's behavior. When the majority falls short of the 48-hour public notice rule, they request a waiver. These requests are now infrequent and are more transparent. This is a very meaningful accomplishment because the public's right to know and prepare are heightened, and its voice is given greater volume.

In light of the recent "Sunshine Week," I would like to share with the public a few areas where the state Capitol could use more sunshine. The House Republicans introduced two resolutions; one enhances the public's right to know, and the other aims at creating procedures when perceived conflicts of interests arise in the Legislature.

The first resolution aims at changing the rules that govern the state House of Representatives. We are requesting for a six-year financial plan to accompany the state budget bill.

Recently, the House passed out the state budget. The budget bill is a very complex and comprehensive plan of expending state revenues. When the two-year budget comes down to us from the governor, it is submitted with a budget in brief. This brief includes the governor's six-year financial plan. It reflects all the governor's proposals for spending for the next six years. There are estimated year-end balances for each year, and it uses the Council on Revenues' estimates for state tax collections.

The House of Representatives supposedly has one, too.

A best practice is to use this six-year financial plan to help us decide on whether or not we agree with the proposed House version of the budget. Instead, this six-year financial plan is labeled "intellectual property" belonging to the majority. Why is it important for the public and the minority to have this? Without it, it is like trying to get to a location without a map or committing our state to future expenditures that we may not be able to afford.

The people deserve to have access to this tool for direction and clarity. It would help us to understand what our financial positions will be in the out years should we approve this statewide budget.

Another area that needs sunshine is also in state finances. There are two parts of the budget that have to do with granting money to community organizations or areas. They are the Capital Improvements Program (CIP) and grants-In-aid (GIA).

The House of Representatives comprises 51 representatives from across the state, yet there is a perception that there are committees of one deciding which requests will be granted. There are no publicly stated guidelines or priorities for these committees of one to follow. The term most often used is "pork projects." Most, if not all, have legitimate requests for obtaining state monies. All too often, this process is about "who you know" instead of "what is needed" or what the state's priorities are.

This is not meant to be an attack, but a simple stating of the facts.

The majority has a large and comfortable majority and changes such as these are usually not welcomed. This has long been accepted practice. We can strive to do things differently to create a more fair and open process that improves public trust. The perception is out there in the public and exists in the light whispers in the Capitol hallways.

The second resolution is to request for the Ethics Commission to report back to the Legislature on how to best approach conflicts of interest for elected officials. Currently, elected officials are exempt from the ethics law that deals with conflicts of interest. Due to the exemption, what is perceived as unethical behavior of an elected official (such as pushing legislation that could substantially affect their finances) currently goes unanswered. We want the Ethics Commission to focus on how we may be able to accomplish a solution to this.

We often ask why is it that Hawai'i's voter turnout is amongst the lowest in the nation. I would say that it has a lot to do with lack of trust. With the public's help, we can make strides to improve other areas needing transparency here at the Capitol.

State House Minority Leader Lynn Finnegan, R-32nd (Lower Pearlridge, 'Aiea, Halawa) wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.