A commission created to recommend ways to stem the tide of corruption in Hawaii state and local government has released an ambitious agenda that includes 31 proposals for the 2023 Legislature that convenes next month.
The 396-page report released Thursday follows a House resolution in the 2022 Legislature creating the Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct.
“Several members of the public exhorted the Commission to be bold in its actions and legislative proposals,” the report states. “The Commission understands that the public’s trust and belief in the integrity of state and county governments have been shaken and can no longer be taken for granted but rather earned and regained over time.”
Sen. Karl Rhoads, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is likely to hear the bulk of the proposals, said Tuesday he was still poring through the document so wasn’t prepared to comment, but he did plan to evaluate the proposed legislation.
“We are in the process of reviewing the report,” he said, “and we will consider the proposals seriously.”
The commission was chaired by retired Hawaii Judge Dan Foley and included officials from state ethics and campaign spending agencies as well as representatives of good government groups.
House Speaker Scott Saiki said all of the recommendations will be introduced and the public will have an opportunity to comment on them.
“The strength and stability of the government relies on the public’s trust, and for public officials to act with prudence, integrity, and good, ethical judgment,” Saiki said in a statement.
The recommendations include proposals to limit legislators’ terms in office to 16 years, strengthening investigation and prosecution of fraud, including prohibiting those convicted from seeking public office for 10 years and giving the Campaign Spending Commission more power.
In addition, measures boosting openness and transparency are proposed, including greater disclosure about lobbyists’ involvement with lawmakers and lawmaking, allowing immediate viewing of testimony as soon as it is submitted, rather than the current practice of posting testimony once the hearing is ongoing, continuing the live-streaming of legislative sessions that began during the COVID-19 lockdown and requiring explanations when measures are not scheduled for hearings by committee chairmen or when they are deferred indefinitely.
“The acts of a few individuals have led many to believe that a deep moral crisis exists throughout each corner of the State,” the report states.
The report describes how one incident in particular inspired national news headlines. Former Senate Majority Leader J. Kalani English, a Maui Democrat, and former House Finance Committee Vice Chairman Ty Cullen, a central Oahu Democrat, pleaded guilty in February in federal court to a felony charge of honest services wire fraud for accepting bribes in exchange for shaping legislation that would benefit a company involved in publicly financed cesspool conversion projects.
But that was by no means the only instance, the report states.
“Hawaii has recently endured other high-profile acts of criminal conduct on each island of the State,” the report continues, listing:
• A $10.9 million affordable housing credit scheme by a Hawaii County Office of Housing and Community Development specialist and three individuals from the private sector.
• Drug trafficking conspiracy, distribution of methamphetamine, and assault by a Kauai County councilman
• Conspiracy by the Honolulu Police Chief and his Deputy Prosecutor wife, along with conspiracy to hide public funds by Honolulu’s Corporation Counsel, Managing Director, and Chairperson of the Honolulu Police Commission
• Conspiracy against the former Honolulu Prosecutor and several employees of an engineering firm
• Bribery by a Honolulu businessman and a former Maui County Director of Environmental Management
• Bribery by five current or former employees of Honolulu’s Department of Planning and Permitting, along with one architect
• Embezzlement and fraud by the former union leader of Honolulu’s International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1260 and two of his family members.
• Potential instances of fraud by former top officials at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs totaling more than $7.3 million.
Five of the commission’s 15 recommendations in an interim report were passed by the 2022 Legislature and became law, including a tightening of campaign finance laws, required ethics training for all legislators and state employees, prohibition of campaign fundraisers for elected state and county officials during legislative sessions.
Two others, capping fees for access to public records and requiring electronic audio or video recordings of public board meetings be maintained as a public record and posted, were passed by the Legislature but vetoed by then-Gov. David Ige.
The full report can be accessed on the House webpage under Special Committees, https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/house.aspx.
Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.
