The first request for an exemption from the state’s new anti-nepotism law — submitted by Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustee Brickwood Galuteria, who supervises his daughter — has been denied by the Hawaii Ethics Commission.
The commission did grant Galuteria a three-month extension to continue to employ his daughter, Sommer Soares, as his OHA office aide who reports directly to him, according to a July 20 letter from Robert D. Harris, the Ethics Commission’s executive director and general counsel.
The time allows Soares an opportunity to transition to a new position, be assigned to a different supervisor or undertake “other steps that would achieve full compliance with the Nepotism law,” Harris wrote to Galuteria.
Galuteria, who served in the state Senate for 10 years, plans to comply but said it’s uncertain whether his daughter will stay with OHA after joining him as his aide in January.
“I can’t be a former lawmaker and not follow the law,” he said.
Asked whether Soares will move to a new position at OHA or report to a different supervisor, Galuteria said that she has options.
“Maybe, maybe not,” he said. “Sommer has great qualifications.”
Galuteria represents the first state employee or elected official to request a so-called good cause exemption since a statewide anti-nepotism law went into effect July 12 as part of a broader effort this year to clamp down on corruption and campaign spending and clean up government.
The law allows for exceptions to waive the anti-nepotism rules, such as for health care workers who are related and serving together in rural communities, particularly on the neighbor islands, Harris previously told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
The prohibition against hiring or supervising relatives otherwise applies to all state employees, except for legislators and members of the state Judiciary.
State officials are no longer allowed to appoint, “hire, promote, or retain a relative or household member to, or demote, discharge, or terminate a relative or household member from … a paid position in the employee’s employing agency,” according to Harris’ letter to Galuteria. “The Office of Hawaiian Affairs does not appear to fall under either the legislative or judicial branch of government and, thus, is subject to Act 261.”
The new law, according to Harris’ letter to Galuteria, does multiple things:
>> “Eliminates favoritism, and establishes an equal playing field for other qualified individuals seeking an employment opportunity;
>> “Avoids conflicts of interest by ensuring state employees can make unbiased decisions in the best interest of the public;
>> “Helps maintain public confidence in the public integrity and impartiality of elected officials and government as a whole; and
>> “Prevents abuses of power, that is, the risk of elected officials misusing their authority to benefit family members and expend public resources improperly.”
