HONOLULU ETHICS COMMISSION INFORMATION SHEET

FOR CHARTER QUESTION 5

Should the City’s elected officials be subject to fines for ethics violations?

On November 7, Oahu’s voters will be asked whether their city elected officials should be subject to civil fines imposed by the Honolulu Ethics Commission (“Commission”) for violations of the ethics laws. This is Charter Question 5.

Under the current city law, ethics law violators are not subject to a fine. The Commission may investigate and report violations to the violator’s appointing authority. Also, the Commission can recommend discipline, but whether and what kind of discipline will be imposed is up to the appointing authority. The appointing authorities in city government are department heads for employees, the Mayor for his/her appointees, and the Council for councilmembers.

The Commission offers the information below to help voters understand this issue.

Pros

Those who support civil fines for ethics law violators make the following arguments:

1. Imposing civil fines deters unethical conduct in public officials. It also encourages officials to seek ethics advice from the Commission before they act. Therefore, cases of unethical conduct should be reduced.

2. Ethics agencies in almost every state and many cities have the power to impose civil fines on ethics law violators. This year, the Hawaii State Ethics Commission was granted the power to impose fines on state employees.

3. There is no effective discipline that can be taken against councilmembers who violate the ethics laws because they are subject only to removal from Council committees or other minor restrictions.

4. The Mayor and Prosecuting Attorney do not have appointing authorities. As a result, they can avoid discipline for ethics law violations.

5. In some cases, an elected official can keep profits made in violation of the ethics laws.

Cons

However, there are arguments against allowing the Commission to impose fines on elected officials:

1. Some people believe that unethical conduct by officials will not change despite the fact that they may be fined for violations.

2. To implement the law, there will be an additional $30,000 to $60,000 annual cost for the Commission to pursue fines against violators.

3. State law requires that a city agency handle the appeals in cases where the Commission imposes fines on violators. This may result in the creation of another city agency.

4. State law makes imposing a fine difficult. State law requires that, before a fine may be imposed by a city agency, the agency must order the violator to stop the wrongful conduct. The violator may be fined if he/she continues the unlawful conduct. In other words, the state notice requirement lets officials violate the law until they are told to stop. To make imposing fines an effective deterrent against unethical conduct, state law would have to be changed.

Next Steps and Further Information

If Question 5 passes, the Commission will work with the Council to craft an ordinance that sets out the process for imposing a civil fine, when a fine may be levied, the amount of the fine and other specifics. In addition, the Commission will work with the Legislature to remove the current requirement that a violator must be notified of a specific violation before he/she may be fined.

If you would like more information about Question 5, contact the Commission at 768-7786 or ctotto@honolulu.gov. If you would like to see the full text of Question 5 or want information about voting on Charter amendments, contact the Honolulu Charter Commission at www.honolulu.gov/chc.