Tuesday is the 59th day of the 60-day session.

State House and Senate lawmakers, in a vote just before a midnight Friday deadline, agreed to a bill that would allow the state to acquire and preserve Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore.

The Lingle administration is in negotiations with private investors on the sale of the hotel, golf courses and other developed portions of the 880-acre resort. The idea is to use proceeds of the sale of the developed land to finance the preservation of undeveloped land such as Kawela Bay and Kahuku Point.

The Lingle administration does not need the bill to proceed with the negotiations, but wants it as a symbolic show of support from the state Legislature.

Even though the bill made the deadline for final consideration, its passage this week is not assured. Several senators are concerned about committing to a purchase of the resort without greater detail, while some majority Democrats want to put some distance between the Legislature and Republican Gov. Linda Lingle on the issue.

Lingle has said she would likely call lawmakers back into special session to consider a purchase deal if one develops after the Legislature adjourns on Thursday.

"We feel it would be an affirmation," Linda Smith, the governor's senior policy adviser, said of the bill.

State Sen. Clayton Hee, D-23rd (Kane'ohe, Kahuku), and state Rep. Michael Magaoay, D-46th (Schofield, Mokule'ia, North Shore), helped broker negotiations with House and Senate leaders Friday night when it appeared the bill might not move.

The bill would authorize the Lingle administration to spend up to $250,000 on the negotiations but does not otherwise commit any other state money.

"This bill is very significant in that it shows that the legislators are willing to create new statutory law to authorize her to move forward. That's the significance of the bill," said Hee, the chairman of the Senate Water and Land Committee.

Magaoay, the chairman of the House Legislative Management Committee, urged members of a working group studying the purchase and preservationists on the North Shore to contact lawmakers in support of the bill over the next few days.

Lawmakers also took steps Friday night to acquire agricultural lands owned by Galbraith Estate in Central O'ahu.

The Turtle Bay and Galbraith Estate decisions came as lawmakers worked to meet the deadline to have bills prepared for final votes this week.

Budget agreement: House and Senate budget negotiators signed off Thursday night on a $10.7 billion operating budget and $1.4 billion in capital improvement projects for next fiscal year.

The spending plan is less than Lingle recommended because of lawmakers' concerns about the slowing economy.

The budget would restrict the Lingle administration spending of federal welfare money, which could lead to cuts to nonprofits and social-service providers that work with the poor. Lawmakers also chose to fund only a fraction of requests for grants-in-aid, which will also impact nonprofits and other community groups.

The capital improvement spending plan includes a sizable investment in upgrades at the University of Hawai'i and at K-12 public schools.

Public financing: Lawmakers agreed Friday on a bill that would create a pilot project for public financing of Big Island County Council elections for three election cycles starting in 2010.

Qualifying candidates would be eligible for public money for their campaigns in the hopes of lessening the influence of private campaign donations.

Lawmakers reached agreement on the bill after dropping a controversial provision to clarify state campaign-finance law on corporate campaign contributions.

Campaign signs: Lawmakers agreed Thursday to limit the size of political campaign signs on residential property.

Political signs could be no larger than 4-by-2 feet, with the total area of all signs limited to 16 square feet.

The bill would take effect in January, after this year's elections.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"We have to live within our means, and I think we have."

— State Sen. Rosalyn Baker, D-5th (W. Maui, S. Maui), chairwoman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, on the state budget.

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