If you’re tracking power and influence, one obvious measure is an organization’s presence at the State Capitol as it tries to shape legislation in its own interest.
Eleven organizations that are represented by registered lobbyists in Hawaii consistently ranked among the top 25 in lobbying-related expenditures, according to reports filed with the State Ethics Commission.
I compiled this list by first ranking the groups by total lobbyist expenditures during each of the three most recent two-year legislative cycles (2007-2008, 2009-2010, and 2011-2012). Then I picked through to identify those ranking in the Top 25 in each of the three periods.
These consistent top spenders, along with their ranks in the three periods, are reported below, along with their lobbyists registered during the most recent legislative session.
Kamehameha Schools (3,3,8)
Keliipuleole, Sydney W.C.K.
Okudara, Jon T.
Pavlicek, Melissa T.
Teves, Stephen M.
Thoemmes, Walter F.
HSTA (4,9,5)
Garcia, Edward
Ito-Mizota, Kendra
Nagasako, Alvin
Okabe, Wilfred
Hawaii Tourism Authority (7,4,19)
Okudara, Jon T.
Altria (8,1,2)
Donaldson, Robert E.
Morris, George A.
Nip, Celeste Y.K.
Slovin, Gary M.
Sumberg, Alex
Western States Petroleum (9,16,16)
Pavlicek, Melissa T.
Teves, Stephen M.
Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii (10,7,15)
Menor-McNamara
Sherry R. Tollefson, James
Outrigger Enterprises (15,12,20)
Mr. W. David D. Carey, III
Mr. Max J. Sword
University of Hawaii Professional Assembly (19, 10,11)
Radcliffe, John H.
VISA Inc (22,21,17)
Dang, Marvin S.C.
Hawaiian Electric Co. (23,14,10)
Alm, Robert A.
Char, Susan M.
Deweese, Garen R.
Endo-Omoto, Darcy L.
American Family Life Assurance Co (AFLAC) (24,11,12)
Hamasaki, Peter J.
Morris, George A.
Mukai, Stanley Y.
Radcliffe, John H.
Click here for a list of the top 25 spenders in each of the three periods.
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What about lobbyists at the county level?
Natalie, I think your point is a good one. Article XIV of our state constitution created four county ethics boards and a state ethics commission at the same time. All are separate with separate jurisdictions, but in the constitution they all are mandated to carry out the same duties regarding ethics laws and including lobbying and lobbyists, yet not much seems to be reported on or about county lobbyists.
The only difference is that the state ethics commission administers the ethics code created by a constitutional convention.
Further, since a county council is so small in terms of members, I have heard, but don’t know, that these members carry much power by virtue of their small number than, say, the “average” legislator. I had to focus on my duties while with the state ethics commission and could not check around much, but on the other hand, I never read much about those lobbying at the county level. I wonder about their success at influence. I also wonder if the county ethics boards have websites comparable to the State Ethics Commission, showing registered lobbyists and their reports. The duty to regulate lobbyists is a duty of each county, as it is created in the constitution. Counties then are supposed to enact appropriate laws for the county ethics boards to administer.
Another issue is the different way county ethics board members are chosen, as compared to the state ethics commission, yet the general guidelines for selection are set forth in Article XIV, but seem to be followed by the State Ethics Commission only.
Thank you, Dan. At least one lobbyist noted by Ian has testified at a Honolulu City Council meeting. It seems to me this type of analysis should be done at the county level as well.
The Honolulu Ethics Commission has a staff of three and a budget of about $300,000 for the current year. (Next year’s budget will allow for one more person.) They do have lobbyist information posted on their website, but the list looks incomplete when comparing it to the state information.
Thanks for the information, Natalie. It is good to hear that the City Ethics Board continues to improve. I have a high opinion of Chuck Totto, and was glad that he became the director after Stapleton. He actually cares, and does very competent work. The problem it seems will always be resources, which is a little baffling in light of all the work to create ethics boards in the first place. And priorities seem totally out of whack. Good government comes first, and should be allowed to work.