The perfect should not become the enemy of the good, as the saying goes, and the set of new laws aimed at improving government is definitely a good step, advancing the public interest.
Of course, where good government is concerned, there is always room for improvement — and the time to do so comes around at the start of the Legislature’s session every January.
Gov. Josh Green ended his work week Friday on a positive note, signing 18 bills passed to raise the ethical standards applied in the conduct of government, campaigns and elections.
This advance by lawmakers was prompted largely by the work of the Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct. This panel met last year to recommend reforms that would strengthen how fraud is investigated and prosecuted, make government more transparent, expand awareness of ethics and oversight in government, and scale back how much power money has in politics.
The context for this movement was public concern about ethics scandals in the Legislature itself, principally the 2022 federal bribery prosecution of two veteran lawmakers, J. Kalani English and Ty Cullen, over how a businessman influenced key decisions on legislation affecting his industry.
The initial response in the lawmaking session that year was disappointing, but the commission at least was appointed, and to admirable effect: There were 28 bills and three resolutions in the package sent to the Legislature, and many of them passed.
But not all. Measures to set term limits for legislators and to fund county ethics boards and commissions, the merits of which are open to debate, did not get very far.
And ultimately a proposed “citizens bill of rights” and an anti-nepotism measure were incorporated into House rules rather than being enacted. Lawmakers should reconsider that approach next session: A state law, uniformly enforced in both legislative chambers, would be the stronger safeguard.
Still, there was encouraging progress in the measures that did emerge. Among those signed on Friday:
>> Act 128 (Senate Bill 1493), barring lobbyist contributions or expenditures, or promises of the same, to anyone required to file Campaign Spending Commission reports during legislative sessions. Curbing the influence of money in lawmaking is a paramount objective.
>> Act 119 (SB 1189): requiring candidates or their candidate committee treasurer to file a preliminary campaign finance report Feb. 28 in general election years starting in 2026. Ideally, this would be compelled in 2024 as well.
>> Act 121 (House Bill 92), increasing the fine for certain campaign spending law violations by a noncandidate committee. These consequences need to be steep, if they are to be taken seriously.
>> Act 114 (SB 141), updating rules for certifying or replacing presidential electors; after all the national concerns surrounding this issue, it is critical that Hawaii’s standards be clarified.
>> Act 115 (SB 1076), requiring the state Office of Elections to produce an online voter information guide.
In addition to these and other good-government improvements, it is also commendable that lawmakers have restored the “shield law” that helps journalists protect key sources, a protection that was allowed to lapse. Effective news coverage is part of what keeps the government accountable.
In the end, the actual process of governance — the way bills are introduced, pass or fail — should be made more transparent. But this year’s final score of 18 bills can be taken as a signal that the Legislature was conscious of the voters’ sentiment.
Lawmakers should further sharpen their ethics standards in 2024, which is, after all, another election year.
