House of Representatives (Hawaii)

The **House of Representatives** (Hawaiian: *Hale o nā Lunamakaʻāinana*) is the unicameral parliament of the Kingdom of Hawaii. It consists of 185 members who are elected for four-year terms in seven electoral constituencies. The House of Representatives was first established in the year 1925, upon the independence of Hawaii. It replaced the Hawaiian Assembly, which was the autonomous legislature for Hawaii within the California Republic.

The unicameral parliament has 185 members, all of whom are elected every four years via either open party lists, single transferrable vote, or first-past-the-post voting, depending on the constituency.

## Composition

The House of Representatives has 185 members, which is a constitutionally mandated amount that cannot change. These 185 members are split between seven constituencies corresponding to the inhabited Hawaiian islands. Each constituency is able to determine their electoral systems on their own; currently, three use open party-lists and proportional representation, three use single transferrable vote voting, and one uses first-past-the-post voting.

The electorate consists of Hawaiian citizens who are aged 18 or above on election day; voter registration is not necessary in Hawaii, as individuals are automatically registered on either their 18th birthdays or the day they acquire Hawaiian citizenship, whichever comes last. Anyone who holds voting rights is eligible to stand as a candidate, meaning that all candidates must be Hawaiian citizens aged at least 18. The prime minister may request parliament to be dissolved by the Monarch at any time, causing a snap election to be called, although this is more rare than in other nations; parliament has not been dissolved early in Hawaii since 1950, which has been credited to the strength of Hawaiian political stability.

### Constituencies

There are six multi-member constituencies and one single-member constituency, that in total elect 185 MPs. The seven constituencies generally correspond with the Hawaiian Islands. In Hawaii, Maui, and Oahu, MPs are elected through open party lists and proportional representation, MPs in Kauai, Lanai, and Molokai are elected by means of single transferrable vote, while MPs in Niihau are elected through first-past-the-post voting.

Candidates in six constituencies must reside in the constituencies that they are standing for election. However, candidates in Oahu may reside within any constituency.

 Oahu | 127

## Powers

As a unicameral parliament, the House of Representatives is the sole representative of the legislative branch in Hawaiian politics. In addition to its position as the seat of the legislative branch, the House of Representatives also possesses several checks over the executive branch, and it is considered to be the most powerful branch in Hawaiian politics.

The primary role of the House of Representatives is to pass legislation. Pieces of legislation only need to pass a majority vote in parliament in order to be passed onto the Monarch for signature; parliament can overturn the Monarch's veto by a simple majority vote, but the Monarch has never vetoed a bill in modern Hawaiian history. The House of Representatives may also propose referenda and constitutional amendments. The legislative branch additionally has the power to file and vote on votes of no confidence, which would strip the prime minister and their cabinet from power if the vote passes.

The House of Representatives has the exclusive power to:

* Nominate the prime minister
* Approve the budget
* Ratify treaties
* Declare war

## Organization

### Presidium

The presidium is chaired by the speaker of the House of Representatives, who is the president and leader of the legislative branch in Hawaii. The speaker is elected at the start of each parliamentary session by the parliamentary membership through a secret ballot. Almost always belonging to the government, anyone may declare a candidacy for the speakership at the start of each session, although the nominee proposed by the government is almost always elected.

As the leader of the legislative branch, the speaker presides over and organizes debates and votes, reads initial drafts of bills and determines which committee to send them to, appoints most committee chairpeople, and serves as the main authority figure within parliament tasked with enforcing parliament rules and etiquette.

The speaker is deputized by one deputy speaker, whom is typically selected from the main opposition party. They are elected in a separate secret ballot vote after the speakership election, with the parties represented in the government customarily abstaining. The deputy speaker holds few official powers, but acts as a major opposition figure and appoints the chairperson of the Standing Committee on Constitutional Affairs.

 Deputy Speaker

### Standing committees

The members of parliament are each allocated to fourteen standing committees, of which thirteen are related to specific political topics. The fourteenth is the Standing Committee on Constitutional Affairs. Each standing committee corresponds with one or more government ministers.

Each committee is chaired by a chairperson and a deputy chair. For fourteen of the committees, the chairperson is appointed by the speaker, and the deputy chair by the deputy speaker. For the Standing Committee on Constitutional Affairs, the chair is appointed by the deputy chair, and the deputy chair by the speaker.

### Parliamentary groups

Each party represented in parliament also has a parliamentary group. Each parliamentary group is led by an executive board and parliamentary leader, elected at the start of each parliamentary session. It is customary for the party leader to also serve as parliamentary leader, although when a party is represented in the government their party leader is typically nominated to serve as a minister, so a different member of the party is typically elected as parliamentary leader instead.

Parliamentary groups meet often in order to discuss the party's official response to bills and to work on legislative strategies. Parliamentary leadership is also responsible for assigning members of their party to committees.

## Voting procedure

A bill can be written by any member of parliament, or any several members of parliament. After it is written, it is submitted to the speaker. Written bills must be submitted to the speaker's box outside of their private office by 9 o'clock in the morning or else they will not be officially submitted until the following day. After submission, the speaker reads each bill and passes it off to the relevant committee. Once the committee receives the bill, they debate it and may edit it as they please. The committee chairperson then decides when a vote on the bill should be held. If the committee vote passes, the edited bill moves onto the general floor. If the committee vote fails, the bill is dead; due to the amount of bills that are proposed, several do not end up receiving committee votes and expire on the day parliament is dissolved.

After the bill moves onto the general floor, the speaker determines when debate shall be held regarding it. Any members of parliament may speak during the debate, and MPs are also permitted to invite experts or witnesses to testify in regards to the bill. During the debate, members of parliament may propose amendments to the bill, which need a majority vote to pass and be added on. The debate lasts as long as the speaker decides it may; when the speaker determines that debate is over, they call the bill to a vote. If parliament disagrees with the speaker's decision to suspend debate, they may vote to open debate up longer, but the vote requires a two-thirds majority to pass. If this vote passes, debate will continue for three more business days.

Once a bill is called to a vote, all members on the floor will say *Ae* ("yes") or *Aʻole* ("no"), indicating their support or opposition to the bill. Members may also choose to abstain from the vote. If the vote is overwhelmingly tilted towards one side, the speaker will determine the outcome based on the voice vote. If the vote is mixed, the speaker will call for a second electronic vote, where members of parliament who are present will vote using the electronic *Ae* or *Aʻole* buttons on their desks, so the votes are tabulated precisely. If a majority of parliament votes in the affirmative, then the bill passes. If a majority of parliament votes in the negative, then the debate for the bill may be reopened for one more week if a simple majority votes to do so. If so, the debate process will start again, and the speaker will call for a vote once this second round of debate concludes. The voting process will occur again, and if the vote fails once again, the bill is dead. If debate is not reopened, then the bill is dead.

After a bill passes parliament, it is sent to the Council of State for signature by the Monarch at the next council meeting.

## Members

The House of Representatives has 185 members. Members are elected for one parliamentary session, which typically lasts four years but may end early if parliament is dissolved early. If a member of parliament vacates their seat during their mandate, then the seat is left vacant until the next election. Members of the cabinet are able to retain their seats in parliament, as Hawaii fuses the executive and legislative branches.

### Lists of members

* List of members of the House of Representatives (Hawaii), 2014–2018
* List of members of the House of Representatives (Hawaii), 2018–2022