How Hawaii lawmakers spend an annual allowance up to $15,952 for incidental work-related expenses will be easier for the general public to see.
State House and Senate leadership recently decided to post regular reports of such spending by each legislator online.
Such a move was recommended in December by a commission formed in 2022 to improve the standards of conduct for local government officials in the wake of a bribery scandal involving two state lawmakers.
The Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct drafted a bill to make such public accounting mandatory under state law.
One version of this measure, House Bill 136, passed the full House on a 51-0 vote Feb. 21, and is awaiting consideration in the Senate. However, the bill isn’t expected to become law.
House Speaker Scott Saiki said the new administrative policy to post spending reports online will be difficult to reverse and that a voluntary change was preferable because the bill represented, in his view, micromanagement of legislative operations.
Senate President Ron Kouchi earlier this year committed to putting spending reports online and did not comment on the merits for encasing it in law.
The Senate began posting expenditures of its members Wednesday at capitol.hawaii.gov/senate.aspx where they will be updated monthly.
Saiki said the House needs more time to have information technology work done before posting spending reports for House members.
The reports show how lawmakers use their incidental expense allowance paid for by taxpayers.
Such spending often includes things such as business cards, food for events or meetings, work- related travel and office supplies.
Among the reports for senators covering spending through February, the biggest total amount spent was $2,444.28 by Sen. Lynn DeCoite (D, East and Upcountry Maui- Molokai-Lanai). DeCoite’s expenditures included about $1,700 for lei, food and a floral arrangement on the Legislature’s festive Jan. 18 Opening Day.
The largest single expenditure was $1,808.38 from Sen. Carol Fukunaga (D, Manoa-Tantalus-Makiki) for an iPad Pro tablet and keyboard to conduct legislative business.
The smallest single expenditure was $2.92 by Sen. Herbert “Tim” Richards III (D, North Hilo-Waimea-North Kona) for ice on Opening Day.
Five senators reported spending no money from their allowance through February: Kurt Fevella (R, Ewa Beach-Ocean Pointe- Iroquois Point), Les Ihara Jr. (D, Palolo-Kaimuki-Moiliili), Gilbert Keith-Agaran (D, Wailuku-Kahului-Waihee), Angus McKelvey (D, West Maui-Maalaea-South Maui) and Sharon Moriwaki (D, Waikiki-Ala Moana- Kakaako).
Incidental expense reports from lawmakers are public records, but obtaining them required special requests.
The commission recommended that the reports be published on the Legislature’s website to increase transparency and ease of accessing public information on spending taxpayer money.
“While legislative allowance expenditures are public records, access to this information is not easily accessible,” Robert Harris, a conduct standards commission member and executive director of the Hawaii State Ethics Commission, said in written testimony on HB 136. “Increased transparency will help ensure greater public confidence in the use of state funds.”
The Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct was formed in 2022 at the direction of the House in response to federal charges filed early in the year year against former Senate Majority Leader J. Kalani English and the former vice chair of the House Finance Committee, Rep. Ty J.K. Cullen, for accepting bribes from a local businessman in exchange for action on legislation.
English was sentenced in July to 40 months in federal prison. Cullen is scheduled to be sentenced April 6.
Lawmaker spending report transparency
State lawmakers may spend up to $15,952 annually to cover incidental expenses connected with their legislative duties. The Senate began posting such spending reports online Wednesday, and the House is to follow. Here’s the report for one lawmaker, Sen. Glenn Wakai (D, Kalihi-Salt Lake-Pearl Harbor).
>> Feb. 2: $40.68 — Lunch for meeting with Patrick Branco and OHA trustee Mililani Trask to discuss hydrogen and other issues
>> Feb. 2: $64.36 — Business cards for Wakai
>> Feb. 8: $129.79 — 11-by-14-inch frames for honorary certificates
>> Feb. 7: $16.00 — Parking permits to provide temporary parking for new employee onboarding
>> Feb. 10: $462.57 — Bento lunches for students at the Micronesian Youth Leadership Workshop on Feb. 11
>> Feb. 10: $582.36 — Honolulu Star- Advertiser one-year subscription
>> Feb. 16: $17.80 — Bottled water service for Jan. 23
>> Feb. 22: $283.51 — Lunch for Senate leadership meeting Feb. 14
>> Feb. 22: $301.91 — Lunch for students from the Hawaii Okinawa Student Exchange Program Feb. 13
>> Feb. 23: $19.61 — Bottled water for guests and office meetings
>> Feb. 28: $54.29 — Lunch for meeting with DBEDT Deputy Director Dane Wicker to discuss DBEDT issues
>> Feb. 28: $97.10 — Lunch for meeting with Francis Choe, Patrick Branco and Aaron Johanson to discuss economic issues
