Taking a break -- hope to be back on the blog by next Thursday.

State Rep. Della Au Belatti, D-25th (Tantalus, Makiki, McCully), has signed a petition calling for a special session to restore classroom time lost to teacher furloughs and she plans to speak out on the issue in a private House caucus this week.

Belatti, an attorney in the law office of Eric Seitz, is also working on a federal lawsuit challenging the furloughs on behalf of students.

Conflict?

Belatti doesn’t think so. But she asked the state Ethics Commission for guidance. “I’m being an advocate for finding some way to restore instructional time,” she said.

Dan Mollway, the commission’s executive director, offered his thoughts in an Oct. 19 letter. He cited the following provisions of the ethics code in state law:

Section 84-14 (d):

No legislator or employee shall assist any person or business or act in a representative capacity for a fee or other compensation to secure passage of a bill or to obtain a contract, claim, or other transaction or proposal in which he has participated or will participate as a legislator or employee, nor shall he assist any person or business or act in a representative capacity for a fee or other compensation on such bill, contract, claim, or other transaction or proposal before the legislature or agency of which he is an employee or legislator.

Section 84-12:

No legislator or employee shall disclose information which by law or practice is not available to the public and which the legislator or employee acquires in the course of the legislator's or employee's official duties, or use the information for the legislator's or employee's personal gain or for the benefit of anyone.

This provision may cover, for example, something Belatti might learn in a private House caucus. Mollway advised Belatti to remain “cognizant of the information you receive as a legislator with respect to the issue of furloughs, and be assured that such information is not conveyed to your private employer if you acquire the information in your capacity as a legislator and this information is not available to the public."

And then there is Section 84-13:

Fair treatment. No legislator or employee shall use or attempt to use the legislator's or employee's official position to secure or grant unwarranted privileges, exemptions, advantages, contracts, or treatment, for oneself or others; including but not limited to the following:

(1) Seeking other employment or contract for services for oneself by the use or attempted use of the legislator's or employee's office or position.

(2) Accepting, receiving, or soliciting compensation or other consideration for the performance of the legislator's or employee's official duties or responsibilities except as provided by law.

(3) Using state time, equipment or other facilities for private business purposes.

(4) Soliciting, selling, or otherwise engaging in a substantial financial transaction with a subordinate or a person or business whom the legislator or employee inspects or supervises in the legislator's or employee's official capacity.

Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit a legislator from introducing bills and resolutions, serving on committees or from making statements or taking action in the exercise of the legislator's legislative functions. Every legislator shall file a full and complete public disclosure of the nature and extent of the interest or transaction which the legislator believes may be affected by legislative action.

A climate change task force that was passed into law by the state House and Senate over Gov. Linda Lingle’s veto has yet to hold its first meeting, leading some to wonder whether it will face the same fate as a medical marijuana task force.

The task force, which would assess the impacts of global warming on the Islands, is supposed to file a preliminary report to the state Legislature before the next session in January.

State Sen. Mike Gabbard, D-19th (Kapolei, Makakilo, Waikele), the chairman of the Senate Energy and Environment Committee, and the Sierra Club Hawaii chapter have asked the state Office of Planning about the delay.

From Gabbard:

I am concerned, however, to learn that the Task Force has neither convened nor scheduled a meeting. I’m worried that the Task Force will be unable to present a report of its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than 20 days prior to the convening of the 2010 Regular Session, as is required by Act 20.

From Robert Harris of the Sierra Club:

The failure to schedule or hold a meeting could be perceived as an attempt to effectuate the Governor’s overridden veto.  We hope your office will avoid this perception by promptly scheduling a meeting and putting together a timeline to meet Act 20’s requirements.

Brian Schatz, the chairman of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, took a shot at Gov. Linda Lingle today for leaving on a two-week trip to China during debate over the budget deficit and while two public-sector unions are still in contract talks.

From Schatz's statement:

This is the most difficult economic crisis in our state’s history. It’s a situation that demands executive leadership and we need Governor Lingle to stay home and work on the problems facing our community and our government.

We’d like to ask the governor to reconsider her travel plans. There’s just way too much work to be done, including an $800 million budget shortfall and two pending collective bargaining negotiations. On top of that our schools are shut down every other Friday, a condition the Governor herself said never should have happened. This moment calls for the governor to do whatever it takes to work with the legislature and other leaders in finding solutions to the school crisis, to balance the budget and to be here when we need her most.

We recognize the importance of expanding markets for tourism. but there are many leaders in Hawaii who would represent us proudly and well in China. But there is only one governor and we need her here.

Turns out state House Speaker Calvin Say, D-20th (St. Louis Heights, Pälolo Valley, Wilhelmina Rise), is also leaving for a trip to China from Nov. 8 to Nov. 15. The trip, which comes as some lawmakers are calling for a special session to respond to teacher furloughs, is being co-sponsored by the State Legislative Leaders Foundation and the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs.

Should Say go to China?

"If there is a special session there is no doubt the speaker would preside. What's happening now is that we have two collective bargaining agreements that are still pending," Schatz said of the difference between Lingle and Say. "And that requires the executive branch to close the deal."

"I'm not saying that any leader shouldn't be allowed to travel. I think the question is timing."

The petition in the state Senate calling for a special session to tap the hurricane relief fund and offset teacher furlough days has grown to 15, two shy of 17 -- the two-thirds’ threshold required. State Sen. Clayton Hee, D-23rd (Käne’ohe, Kahuku), is the latest to sign.

The state House has 19 signatures, well short of the 34 necessary, although House lawmakers circulating the petition are shooting for a simple majority to send a message to leadership.

Insiders note that some of the lawmakers who signed the petitions may not actually vote for a special session unless certain conditions are met, but the petitions are a measure of internal sentiment.

Some who have signed believe it is important to take a stand no matter the outcome. But there can be a price.

As state Rep. Marcus Oshiro, D-39th (Wahiawä), said on Twitter yesterday:

Taking stands and taking care of busines is not the same. Governor John A. Burns reminds us that any damn fool can do the former.