The state House and Senate voted yesterday to override Gov. Linda Lingle's vetoes of bills that would restrict her power when making appointments to the University of Hawai'i board of regents and when filling vacancies at the state Legislature and U.S. Senate.

Lawmakers also overturned Lingle's veto of a bill that would give public-worker unions the ability to negotiate assignments and transfers during collective bargaining.

House and Senate Democrats, who have veto-proof majorities in both chambers, had not overridden a veto by the Republican governor in two years.

"We believed these were very important measures and that we should override," said state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, D-21st (Nanakuli, Makaha).

Lingle told reporters she did not relish issuing the vetoes. "But when their work is not in the public interest, that's my responsibility, that's why people voted for me, and that's why we have this check and balance," the governor said.

SUSTAINING STATUS QUO?

The House and Senate yesterday also gave final approval to a two-year, $20.8 billion state budget. The general fund portion of the budget, where lawmakers have the most discretion, is $5.1 billion in fiscal year 2008 and $5.2 billion in fiscal year 2009.

Lawmakers said about 35 percent of new general fund spending over the next two years would go to public education, 28 percent toward health and human services, and 13 percent to the University of Hawai'i.

Lawmakers also have agreed to about $50 million in tax relief from a one-time rebate and a permanent food tax credit for lower- and middle-income taxpayers. "Both of these rebate or tax packages affect 60 percent of the tax-paying population, so we really tried to focus on the average family," said state Rep. Pono Chong, D-49th (Maunawili, Olomana, Enchanted Lake).

Lawmakers also agreed to extend an 11-cent-per-gallon tax break on ethanol-blended gasoline that would cost the state about $32 million.

Republicans complained that tax relief was too small and that Democrats continue to tilt the budget toward public education without enforcing more accountability.

"This budget, for lack of a better description, sustains the status quo," said state Senate Minority Leader Fred Hemmings, R-25th (Kailua, Waimanalo, Hawai'i Kai).

Voters approved a constitutional amendment in November supporting the creation of an advisory council to help select UH regents, but Democrats and the governor disagreed over whether the governor or a variety of interests should select who serves on the council, leading to the veto.

GABBARD CROSSES OVER

The bill that will become law creates a seven-member advisory council chosen by the governor, the House speaker, the Senate president, the UH faculty senate, the UH student caucus, an association of former regents and the UH alumni association. It also expands the board from 12 to 15 members, based on geographic representation, and limits regents from serving more than two consecutive five-year terms.

Senate Democrats only reached the two-thirds — or 17 votes — necessary to override when state Sen. Mike Gabbard, R-19th (Kapolei, Makakilo, Waikele), crossed party lines and voted to override the regent veto with reservations. State Sen. Robert Bunda, D-22nd (N. Shore, Wahiawa) and three other Democrats voted with Republicans to sustain the veto.

Gabbard explained later that he did not want a stalemate between the Senate and Lingle over the advisory council to spill over into next session and complicate the work of the board.

House and Senate Democrats also freed a bill that requires Lingle to choose from a list of three nominees from the political parties when filling vacancies for the Legislature and the U.S. Senate. The bill was prompted by Lingle's 2005 appointment of Bev Harbin to fill a Kaka'ako House seat and Harbin's refusal to resign after it was discovered she had unpaid state taxes and misdemeanor criminal convictions for writing bad checks. Harbin was defeated in the Democratic primary last year.

Democrats were also apprehensive about who Lingle might appoint to replace U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye or U.S. Daniel Akaka, both 82-year-old Democrats, if they were to leave office in midterm.

'A KNEE-JERK REACTION'

Overriding the union veto emerged as a difficult issue. Lawmakers had passed — and Lingle has vetoed — similar bills the past two years after the Hawai'i Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that Honolulu had the authority to transfer union workers without negotiation.

State Sen. Clayton Hee, D-23rd (Kane'ohe, Kahuku), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee, described the right to negotiate transfers and other personnel moves as "the essence of collective bargaining," while the counties and law enforcement leaders have warned it would tie management's hands.

Police and fire chiefs, along with other county officials, had urged lawmakers to let the veto stand, arguing the proposed law could restrict their ability to make personnel decisions and protect public safety.

Senate Democrats also voted to follow Maryland and commit Hawai'i to an interstate compact that would elect the president by popular vote instead of through the Electoral College. The compact would only be operative if states with a majority of electoral votes agree to participate.

Hee pointed to the disputed 2000 election, when George W. Bush defeated then-Vice President Al Gore in the Electoral College after Gore won the popular vote. "The president would have been Al Gore instead of President Bush," Hee said. "That's as simple as I can make it."

Hemmings said the state's four electoral votes would go to the national popular vote winner regardless of what Hawai'i voters decided. "This bill is a knee-jerk reaction by shortsighted people," he said.

The House deferred a potential override of the popular vote veto until tomorrow, the last day of the session.

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com and Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.