In the hopes that noting it won’t jinx final passage of the bills: The advance of legislation on ethics and good-government protections is something to celebrate.
But don’t celebrate and just walk away, voters. This is progress, but it bears watching at the state Capitol until new laws make it all the way through the goalposts — and beyond, certainly, to ensure that good policies are followed.
Ironically, what nudged lawmakers so hard in the right direction were the federal corruption charges against two Legislature alumni. Former state Sen. J. Kalani English and former Rep. Ty J.K. Cullen have pleaded guilty, admitting they accepted bribes from a wastewater company executive in exchange for shepherding legislation he favored.
They are among an expanding cadre of public servants, elected or otherwise, who have been exposed for ethics breaches, and worse. State Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, a Democrat representing Kailua and Kaneohe, was the latest. Last week, in the wake of a Hawaii State Ethics Commission investigation, Keohokalole acknowledged that he deposited a total of $1,264, reimbursements for work expenses, into his personal bank account.
The breaches aren’t all in state government, of course. Charges against five people involved in a pay-to-play scheme in the city Department of Planning and Permitting are still fresh in the collective memory. So is a ruling by the Honolulu Ethics Commission that City Councilmember Andria Tupola improperly used $1,500 in public funds for COVID-19 events at S&G Labs Hawaii, where she was the executive director of operations.
This line between public duties and private interests should be clear to all, but it’s been blurred far too readily. That’s why House Bill 1475, which would require training in the state ethics code for lawmakers and state employees, makes sense. The right-and-wrong principles that people ought to grasp easily are not followed instinctively. The sorry truth is that people need frequent reminders.
The same can be said about HB 2069, which also is speeding along. It would establish procedures for the proper handling of protocol gifts received by these lawmakers and employees.
Should that have made clear before now? Definitely. But it’s good to see rules get this attention, however belatedly.
Lawmakers also seem eager, thankfully, to dispense with proposed carve-outs from the rules. HB 1871 and Senate Bill 2714 would have exempted legislators and employees from state Code of Ethics provisions banning the acceptance of “foreign protocol gifts, gifts of aloha, invitations to certain events and meals, under certain conditions.”
“Certain conditions” surely would create the proverbial slippery slope.
Naturally, Hawaii is not the only state that has accrued a record of ethical problems, but lately it certainly has been excelling — in a bad way — at it. Why is that?
The dominance of a single political party tends to insulate incumbents from challenge at the ballot box, and incumbency may give some license to act unaccountably.
That’s one explanation for something that can’t be tolerated. Maintaining independent oversight to head off these lapses must be a paramount concern.
And it appears lawmakers do need to be nudged in the right direction. SB 555, “to prohibit fundraisers by legislators during legislative sessions,” should be toughened up even more. “Fundraiser” is defined as an event “to raise contributions for which the price or suggested contribution for attending the function is more than $25 per person.”
Really? A complete ban on them is out of the question?
This is why voters need to keep the pressure on. Legislators can do better, and it helps to have as many eyes on them as possible, for as long as possible.
Correction: An earlier version of this editorial misspelled the first name of state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole.
