The Hawaii State Ethics Commission has a new online complaint form available on its website.

Dan Gluck, the commission’s executive director, called attention to it in a comment here this week.

“If you (or anyone else) believe that a state official has abused her/his position or has otherwise violated the Ethics Code, please contact the Ethics Commission,” Gluck wrote.

The commission administers the disclosure requirements of the state ethics and lobbyists laws, and enforces the substantive provisions of both laws.

The state ethics code prohibits public officials and employees from accepting gifts that could be interpreted as intending to influence their official decisions; prohibits disclosure of confidential information, favoritism or abuse of official positions for their own or someone else’s benefit, and conflicts of interest.

The lobbbyists law requires regular disclosure of what is spent on lobbying activities, and prohibits lobbyists from requesting or accepting payment “in any way contingent upon the defeat, enactment, or outcome of any proposed legislative or administrative action.”

Here’s further information that appears on the commission website explaining how to file a complaint.

The Commission enforces the State Ethics Code (Hawaii Revised Statutes chapter 84) and the State Lobbyists Law (Hawaii Revised Statutes chapter 97). The Commission receives and reviews complaints, and conducts confidential investigations concerning potential violations of the law. If appropriate, the Commission may initiate formal charges against individuals and proceed to a contested case hearing in accordance with Hawaii Revised Statutes chapter 91. If a violation is found, the Commission has the authority to levy fines of up to $1,000 per violation, and other penalties may also be imposed.

Complaints that have first-hand information about the wrongdoing – that is, complaints where you have personally witnessed the wrongdoing – are more helpful than reports of potential misconduct that you’ve read about in the newspaper.

There are two ways to alert the State Ethics Commission (“Commission”) about a possible violation of the State Ethics Code or Lobbyists Law:

• Contact us with a complaint.
  You can complete this form, call us at (808) 587-0460, e-mail us, or send us a letter (1001 Bishop St. #970, Honolulu, HI 96813) alleging a violation of the State Ethics Code or the Lobbyists law – all we need is a brief description of the alleged violation and the name and state position (or organization) of the alleged violator, if known. All complaints are confidential.  Most complaints lodged with the Commission are done through this “informal” method, though you can also file a formal Charge directly with the Commission.

• File a Charge directly with the Commission. You can file a formal Charge directly with the Commission at any time (within the six-year statute of limitations for State Ethics Code violations and the three-year statute of limitations for Lobbyists Law violations). The process for filing a Charge is set forth in Hawaii Administrative Rules (“HAR”) section 21-5-1. Charges must be signed under oath and may not be anonymous. As described above in #1, the Commission can also issue a Charge itself, usually after someone makes an informal complaint to the Commission and the Commission staff has investigated the matter.