Governor's vetoes include bill to limit charitable deductions

Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle on July 1 vetoed House Bill 1907, a tax bill affecting Hawaii nonprofits, saying the legislation would have had a damaging effect on investment and charitable donations. The bill would have temporarily placed a cap on itemized deductions claimed on state income tax returns until 2016. Lingle said this bill would have discouraged charitable donations.

Capping the deduction would also limit people's ability to deduct for home mortgage interest, job-related expenses and certain tax payments, she said. Nonprofit and charitable organizations that depend on contributions told her they were concerned the bill would hurt their ability to raise funds, she said.

"It is a de facto tax increase that will adversely hurt certain individuals and businesses at a time when we should be encouraging investment and spending to recharge the economy," Lingle told lawmakers in a separate letter.

On July 6, the last possible day for her to act on the bill, Lingle said she will veto civil unions legislation, which means Hawaii will not be the sixth state to allow essentially all the rights of marriage to same-sex couples.

 “I am vetoing this bill because I have become convinced that this issue is of such significant societal importance that it deserves to be decided directly by all the people of Hawaii,” she said. Her other option was to allow it to become law without her signature.

Lingle said the decision on HB 444 “should not be made by one person” and she wants the people of Hawaii to have their say on the matter in the upcoming election. State House leaders have said they will not try to override the veto.

Lingle has said that 60 percent of the more than 34,000 letters, telephone calls and e-mails from the public to her office have been in support of the civil unions bill. In 1993, the Hawaii State Supreme Court found the refusal to grant same-sex couples’ marriage licenses discriminatory.

In all, Gov. Lingle vetoed 32 of the 39 bills on the potential veto list. Lingle said she vetoed the bills due to various factors, including negative impacts on the public, legal or constitutional concerns, potential unintended consequences, or technical flaws in the legislation.

“After carefully reviewing each of these bills and weighing the considerable amount of input that we received from the public, I made the decision to not allow these measures to become law,” Lingle said in a prepared statement. “Although the legislature passed bills they believe are important, I have the final responsibility to ensure that any new law is constitutional, fiscally responsible and in the best interest of the state.”

Six bills that had been on the potential veto list were allowed to become law without her signature. A complete list of the bills and the reasons that Lingle vetoed them can be found at: http://www.hawaii.gov/gov/leg/2010-legislative-session.