Governor Ige has announced his intention to veto a bill that, if it becomes law, would strengthen ethics in government by imposing a new waiting period on the revolving door between public service and special interest lobbying.

The bill “seeks to promote integrity in government by strengthening the wall of separation between lobbyists and high-ranking government officials.”

HB2124 SD2, “Relating to the Code of Ethics,” is strongly supported by the State Ethics Commission.

The commission testified repeatedly in favor of passage, and described what the bill would do.

Currently, under Hawaii’s post-employment law, Hawai’i Revised Statutes (“HRS?) § 84-18, former government officials are generally prohibited from representing others, for pay, before their own agencies for twelve months after leaving office. However, those same former government officials are generally not subject to any cooling-off period before they may be paid to represent private clients before other state agencies. For example, a department director who appears regularly before the Legislature can leave government service and immediately begin lobbying the Legislature for pay; similarly, a legislator can immediately leave office and begin lobbying executive-branch agencies regarding proposed administrative rules.

This measure would create a twelve-month cooling-off period for certain high-ranking government officials (and permanent employees of the Legislature, other than those employed in clerical positions), before those former employees would lobby the Legislature for pay.

The list of those who would be impacted by the bill is included at the bottom of this post.

Although HB2124 was not part of the commission’s package of bills submitted during the 2020 legislative session, a virtually identical bill was included. It appears HB2124 became the vehicle for final passage to accommodate the number of representatives who wanted to be listed among the sponsors of this public-interest measure.

Representatives signing on as introducers of HB2124 were Chris Lee, Tom Brower, Stacelynn Eli, Daniel Holt, Aaron Ling Johanson, John Mizuno, Dee Morikawa, Nadine Nakamura, Mark Nakashima, Amy Perruso, Scott Saiki, Roy Takumi, and Tina Wildberger.

The measure moved smoothly through both houses to passage, and there was no testimony opposing the measure presented in any of the four public hearings.

So why is the governor threatening to veto it?

Here’s Gov. Ige’s explanation for why he intends to veto the bill.

Rationale: The additional restrictions put on volunteer boards and commissions members who fulfill an important role in protecting our community through their service will make it significantly more challenging to recruit for already difficult to fill positions.

The problem here is that the “rationale,” such as it is, misses the point.

Out of approximately 170 boards and commissions in Hawai‘i, there are only six volunteer boards/commissions whose members would be affected by this bill (and for one of those six Boards – the Board of Education – the bill only applies to the Chairperson):

Agribusiness Development Corporation (several of whose members serve ex officio)
Campaign Spending Commission
Hawaii Community Development Authority
Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation
Hawaii Tourism Authority
Board of Education (Chairperson only)

Daniel Gluck, executive director of the State Ethics Commission, points out that he is one of the officials who would be subject to the 12-month “no lobbying” provision.

Public Citizen, the nonprofit and nonpartisan public interest organization, says the government-to-lobbyist revolving door threatens the integrity of government in at least three ways.

Public officials may be influenced in official actions by the implicit or explicit promise of a lucrative job in the private sector with an entity seeking a government contract or to shape public policy.

Public officials-turned-lobbyists will have access to lawmakers that is not available to others, access that can be sold to the highest bidder among industries seeking to lobby.

The special access and inside connections to sitting government officials by former officials-turned-lobbyists comes at a hefty price tag, providing wealthy special interests that can afford hiring such revolvers with a powerful means to influence government unavailable to the rest of the public.

If you would like to let the governor that you support integrity in government and HB2124, you can use this email form on the governor’s website, or phone the governor’s office at (808) 586-0034.

Below are the specific positions that would be affected by HB2124.

…the following individuals shall not represent any person or business for a fee or other consideration regarding any legislative or administrative action, as defined in section 97-1, for twelve months after termination from their respective positions:

(1) The governor;

(2) The lieutenant governor;

(3) The administrative director of the State;

(4) The attorney general;

(5) The comptroller;

(6) The chairperson of the board of agriculture;

(7) The director of finance;

(8) The director of business, economic development and tourism;

(9) The director of commerce and consumer affairs;

(10) The adjutant general;

(11) The chairperson of the board of education;

(12) The superintendent of education;

(13) The chairperson of the Hawaiian homes commission;

(14) The director of health;

(15) The director of human resources development;

(16) The director of human services;

(17) The director of labor and industrial relations;

(18) The chairperson of the board of land and natural resources;

(19) The director of public safety;

(20) The director of taxation;

(21) The director of transportation;

(22) The president of the university of Hawaii;

(23) The trustees and the administrator of the office of Hawaiian affairs;

(24) The chief information officer;

(25) The members of the board of directors and the executive director of the agribusiness development corporation;

(26) The members and the executive director of the campaign spending commission;

(27) The members and the executive director of the Hawaii community development authority;

(28) The members of the board of directors and the executive director of the Hawaii housing finance and development corporation;

(29) The members of the board of directors and the president and chief executive officer of the Hawaii tourism authority;

(30) The members and the executive officer of the public utilities commission;

(31) The state auditor;

(32) The director of the legislative reference bureau;

(33) The ombudsman;

(34) The permanent employees of the legislature, other than persons employed in clerical, secretarial, or similar positions;

(35) The administrative director of the courts; and

(36) Every executive director, director, or administrator of a board, authority, or commission listed in section 84-17(d).