Over the years, the Hawai'i Legislature has become a more open and publicly accessible institution.

It's a shame that steady march of progress could not have been capped this year by taking a step so obvious one wonders why there is any objection:

This would be to embed the Legislature's own open-meeting and public-access rules into the "sunshine law." Legislators years ago imposed that law — designed to protect public access and preserve openness in government — on other segments of government, yet exempted themselves.

They did adopt their own rules that in many ways mirror the sunshine law. But there are important differences: Their rules are voluntary, can be changed at any time and can be suspended by legislators themselves when they feel the need.

Incorporating their rules into the sunshine law would send a strong signal that the Legislature values transparency and is willing to play by the same rules applied to everyone else.

House Judiciary Chairwoman Sylvia Luke had been considering this reform, but in the end could not overcome the pressure of time, a shortage of support and the wishes of leadership that argued the statutory restrictions were unneeded, could interfere with legislative business and, indeed, may even be unconstitutional.

That unconstitutional argument is a bit of a stretch. While the Constitution does not require the Legislature to impose the sunshine law on itself, it does not appear to prohibit it from doing so.

It is true that there may be extra-legislative meetings that arguably should not be covered by open-meeting and notice requirements. Party caucuses are an example.

In fact, that's one of the reasons legislators cite in defense of imposing the sunshine law on nonpartisan county councils, but not on themselves. The argument falls apart when one remembers that the law was written at a time when the councils generally operated on a partisan basis.

Lawmakers should not think the issue is dead. It is the right thing to do, it will increase public confidence in the process and the public will eventually insist it happen.