What goals have you set for yourself and the Ethics Commission?
Three goals. First, it’s time to require all state employees to undergo ethics training. Historically, with about 50,000 state employees, training every state employee was cost-prohibitive and impractical. With online training programs now, it’s possible to reach all state employees in a time and manner that works for them.
The Ethics Code is nuanced, and not always intuitive. Ethics training can prevent inadvertent violations by well-intentioned employees. Training can also, hopefully, address systemic “that’s the way it’s always been done” challenges that sometimes crop up.
Second, the Ethics Commission needs to maintain and build upon its strong relationships with other agencies, such as the Department of the Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Many complaints received by the Ethics Commission have concurrent civil and criminal issues, and working collaboratively is critical.
Third, we need to engage the public to help establish a more efficient and ethical governmental system. As an example, the Ethics Commission and the Department of the Attorney General recently created a Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Hotline. Confidential reports of violations involving government funds or government workers can be made to 808-587-0000 or anti-fraud@hawaii.gov.
Efforts such as these must be highlighted and expanded to ensure the public can be a part of the overall solution.
Given the fallout from the Kalani English/Ty Cullen bribery cases, should the commission adopt a more active role in addressing public distrust of politicians?
The Hawaii Constitution expressly requires the “highest standards of ethical conduct” for all public officers and government employees. The state and county ethics commissions were created to directly help ensure public confidence in our government. Faith in government, however, is a nuanced and fragile thing: One bad apple can ruin the reputations of honest and ethically inclined leaders.
The Ethics Commission’s role, which includes educating, disclosing public financial information, and enforcing the ethics code — won’t repair public confidence by itself. But knowing that someone is diligently enforcing our ethics code is an important pillar to creating an overall great governmental system.
Some have argued that rules governing gifts are too complex and/or strict, and conflict with local customs and etiquette. What do you think?
Gifts of aloha are usually reciprocal: I give my neighbor tangerines when my tree fruits, and she does the same with mangos. There is no expectation that these gifts must be given, nor does the gift-giving go in just one direction.
The Ethics Commission recently changed its rules to prevent lobbyists from giving gifts to legislators (with some narrow exceptions). There is plainly room to clarify these rules. And yet, Hawaii needs to move away from lobbyists giving free lunches and boxes of food to legislators. The culture of free lunches and one-directional gifts creates a slippery slope leading to “favors” to state officials and public corruption.
Rampant gift-giving from lobbyists also creates an appearance problem. Even if some gifts may be harmless and otherwise well-intentioned, the public perception that the Legislature is a place where constituents have to “pay-to-play” inherently damages confidence in the integrity of our governmental system over time.
On the whole, what is your impression of the ethical integrity of lawmakers? Of public servants in general?
A vast majority of legislators and state employees are highly ethical. I believe a small number of state employees push the boundaries of what is permitted, and an even smaller number deliberately flouts the rules. It’s disappointing that a small handful can destroy the reputation of a committed and loyal workforce, but perhaps understandable.
Name the top three things or practices that, if disallowed or changed, would make a large positive difference in changing the pay-to-play culture in government.
Ethics is a complex topic. There are few silver bullets that, by themselves, will radically transform our governmental system. That being said, some near-term solutions that could help include (1) requiring lobbyists to undergo ethics training and holding them accountable for illegal gifts; (2) making watchdog agencies more financially autonomous (less dependent on legislative appropriations and the need to maintain a good relationship with legislators); and (3) strengthening the conflicts of interest law to include a legislator’s direct business interests, such as actions that impact an employer or client.
The state House of Representatives also recently created the Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct. It is tasked with drafting recommendations that broadly improve the standards of conduct for public officers and employees. This commission has a diverse and respected group of members, and I am highly optimistic that some exceptional recommendations will come out of this group. If anyone wants to contribute ideas to this commission, they are welcome to reach me at rharris@hawaiiethics.org.
THE BIO FILE
>> Current title: Executive Director and General Counsel, Hawai’i State Ethics Commission
>> Previous positions: director of Public Policy, Sunrun; director, Sierra Club of Hawai‘i; associate attorney at Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert; adjunct professor at William S. Richardson School of Law; law clerk, Supreme Court of Hawaii, Honorable Simeon R. Acoba Jr.
>> Personal profile: I love spending time with my incredible wife and three amazing children. I also enjoy bicycle riding, woodworking, and baking bread (like many people during the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve picked up a few new hobbies).
>> One more thing: The Ethics Commission accepts anonymous complaints about unethical behavior of state employees. Please contact us at ethics@hawaiiethics.org or at 808-587-0460.
