Whether true or not, Hawaii has a perceived ethics problem among government employees and elected officials. The most obvious are the former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha and his city deputy prosecutor, soon-to-be ex-wife Katherine Kealoha, who were both convicted in 2019 of conspiracy and obstruction of justice. The Kealoha corruption investigation embroiled the Honolulu Corporation Counsel Donna Leong and Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Keith Kaneshiro, who have both been on paid leave since early 2019.

State officials have also been guilty of ethical lapses. Former state House Speaker Daniel Kihano was convicted in 1997 of campaign finance law violations. Former state Sen. Milton Holt pleaded guilty in 1999 to mail fraud involving the use of campaign contributions for personal use. Government employees with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources on Kauai were found to have from 2013-18 falsified documents, misused government time and resources, awarded dozens of government contracts to a friend-owned business, and paid for first-class airfare using state funds.

This, unfortunately, is a small sampling of wrongdoings by elected officials and public employees related to their government duties and functions.

It is no wonder that, according to a Sept. 22, 2019, Star-Advertiser poll, a majority of registered voters do not feel that Hawaii’s elected officials have high ethical standards.

It is beyond time to address this. With the Hawaii Legislature opening Wednesday, and our Honolulu City Council reconvening the following week, our state legislators and Council members can reverse this negative public sentiment by enacting a few ethics regulations.

The state proposals below have been suggested before, but failed. Now, however, is the time to enact reforms to show the people that lawmakers are listening to demands for accountability, ethics and change. The state Legislature should in the 2020 session:

>> Authorize the forfeiture of pension benefits, by court order, for state or county employees who are convicted of an employment-related felony. A bill (House Bill 1264) to do this was introduced in 2019 by House Speaker Scott Saiki and was not objected to by the state Employees’ Retirement System. This is a necessary reform to show that the system is not rewarding bad behavior or shielding its own.

>> Prohibit fundraisers and the solicitation of contributions during the legislative session. Again, a bill (HB 350) to do this was introduced in 2019, again by Saiki. Hawaii’s Legislature is not a full-time legislature, and there are other opportunities to fundraise. Having fundraisers and soliciting contributions during the session, when the focus should be on representing the people, gives the impression that there may be pay-to-play.

>> Prohibit the governor and each county mayor, while holding office, from maintaining any other employment or receiving any emolument. A bill (HB 361) to do this was introduced in 2019, by Saiki. Mayors and the governor are employed full-time in their positions and compensated full-time, and should not have competing outside remunerative interests as a distraction.

At the city level, the City Council should consider a Charter amendment to provide the Honolulu Ethics Commission with more autonomy. Proposed Resolution 19-331 would prohibit any city administration from withholding funding approved by the City Council for the Ethics Commission, hopefully leading to greater decision-making freedoms. This was done for the Honolulu Department of the Prosecuting Attorney.

Clearly, the proposed ideas for improving ethics are not new. The time is now for Hawaii lawmakers to put ethics first to restore the people’s trust in government. If not now, then when?

Sandy Ma is executive director of Common Cause Hawaii.