HONOLULU -- The Honolulu City Council moved a step closer Wednesday to putting the rail transit issue on the ballot in November. There's also a move to consider other forms of mass transit, like magnetic levitation trains.

There are so many different transit proposals on the table even council members have trouble keeping them straight.

"Proposal H is based on proposal F which was amended by Council Member Cachola in addition to the measures included in E. Is everybody clear on that?" City Council Chair Barbara Marshall said.

All that confusion was about whether they should create a transit authority. There is concern about how the members would be picked, and how much control city council would have over the transit authority.

"If you want a transit authority you should have elected officials from the people being able to exercise some reasonable degree of checks and balance over the authority. There are others who say the transit authority should be completely autonomous with no check on their power," Councilmember Charles Djou said.

Anti rail spokesman Cliff Slater had a biting comment on the prospect of a transit authority.

"I came in this morning opened my laptop and I Googled transit authority in quotes and corruption, and I got 69,000 returns," Slater said.

The transit authority issue goes back to committee.

There seems to be broad support for putting the rail issue on the ballot, and including mag lev as a possible technology. Council members take all the issues back to committee and hope to put everything to a final vote on Aug. 20.

And while the city council works on the issue, the anti-transit group Stop Rail Now filed suit against the City Clerk Wednesday.

The lawsuit comes just two days after the clerk refused to accept their 49,000 signatures collected to put the rail transit question on the November ballot.

The suit asks a circuit court judge to order the clerk to file and process the anti-rail petition.

The clerk refused the petition because she said the city charter prohibits her from holding a special election within six months of a general election.

Stop Rail Now argues the charter allows the clerk to hold a special election on general election day to save the $1-2 million cost of holding a separate election.