KEALAKEHE, Hawaii – The Hawaii County Council postponed their vote on a bill establishing two year terms for certain administration officials on Wednesday, effectively killing the proposal.

If passed, Bill 211 would have put a county charter amendment before voters, asking if they want to change the terms served by department heads – who are appointed by the Hawaii County Mayor – from four years to two years. The department heads would still be eligible for reappointment at end of term by the mayor, subject to confirmation by the Council.

The bill was introduced by Hilo Councilman Aaron Chung, but there was not much time to comfortably pass the bill through the required three readings before the deadline to get it on the ballot. Although some councilmembers wanted to take a vote on the bill, the council agreed to postpone it, derailing an opportunity to put the question out to voters.