The Supreme Court of Hawaii issued an order reversing its earlier denial of oral arguments in the appeal about the legality of the Kauai Charter amendment relating to property taxes. Details of the appeal are posted here, and our briefs in the case can be found here or from the links on your right under “Briefs – Ohana Kauai Property Tax merits/reply brief.”
The facts of the case are straightforward: the people of the County of Kauai approved an amendment to their Charter addressing property taxes, but after the election, the County Attorney sued the county Mayor and other county officials asserting the amendment is illegal. The County Attorney represents both sides in the lawsuit, and the litigation was backed with a $100,000 war chest of taxpayer money, earmarked to hire private lawyers to attack the amendment.
No one was defending the legality of the Charter Amendment, so several local homeowners were forced to intervene, but the trial court dismissed their objections and ruled in favor of the County Attorney/Mayor. I represent the homeowners on appeal.
There are three issues in the appeal:
1. Standing/justiciability: May the County Attorney dispense entirely with the injury and controversy requirements for standing to sue, and is she entitled to “inherent” standing merely by virtue of her office?
2. Hawaii Constitution: By delegating real property tax power to “the counties,” did the people of Hawaii in article VIII, section 3 of the Hawaii Constitution grant the power only to county councils, to the exclusion of the people of the counties acting in accordance with their charter?
3. Charter Amendment: Can an amendment to a county’s charter violate the existing charter, when the amendment was proposed, certified, labeled, and passed as a charter amendment?
