Here we are again, three weeks into the legislative session, and the latest personal financial disclosures of our legislators aren’t due at the State Ethics Commission until May 31, nearly a month after the session is scheduled to end.
This allows legislators, and other elected officials, to simply delay their annual filing until the deadline and effectively conceal their current interests from public view. Perfectly legal. Less than satisfactory for the public.
If you’re concerned about potential conflicts of interest–or just want to be reassured that your own elected officials don’t have financial interests that are likely to sway their judgement–all the year’s legislative action will be over before you have a chance to check the record.
Senator Les Ihara introduced a bill last year (along with Sen. Slom) to remedy the situation by moving the disclosure deadline up to the end of January, but the bill was quickly amended to eliminate the original purpose.
Luckily, though, not all legislators hide behind the late filing deadline.
Senate President Shan Tsutsui was the only member of the Senate whose personal financial disclosure was filed and available online this morning.
Over in the House, six members have current disclosure statements filed and available online:
Bravo to this select group for leading by example.
Meanwhile, the reports filed by Tsutsui and Takai illustrate another problem with the current disclosure guidelines. Both report substantial income from their insurance businesses (Tsutsui, $50,000-$100,000; Takai, $75,000-$150,000). Not bad for part-time work. The current ethics law does not require disclosure of individual clients, even if those clients include lobbyists or others with special interests. I’m not saying that either Tsutsui or Takai benefits from such arrangements, but we shouldn’t have to guess about such things. It’s just one other area in which the ethics law needs tightening up!
Oh, in case you’re wondering, neither Gov. Abercrombie nor Lt. Gov. Schatz have filed their disclosures as of today. John D. Waihee IV is the only one of the trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to already have filed. None of the appointed members of the Board of Education have filed their latest disclosures.
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So few.
What about the rest of them public servants? Not so public?
You know, I’m so beaten down by these guys and their maneuvering to avoid disclosure that I pretty much give up. And, yeah, I know that is exactly the strategy – to make everyone just give up. Seriously, Ian, how do YOU keep up the energy and commitment to hound these guys?
I’ve never liked the “vote out the incumbent” approach to voting but this time around I am pretty sure I will simply not vote for a single solitary incumbent – a pox on all their houses. Funny, I don’t smell much fear on their part. 🙂