Meetings canceled as panel members quit over disclosure law

Resignations over a new law requiring public disclosure of financial interests for members of various state boards and commission have forced the cancellation of at least three board meetings this week.

The number of resignations is now up to a total of 18.

A state Land Use Commission meeting on Wednesday and a University of Hawaii Board of Regents Committee on Community Colleges meeting scheduled for Thursday were canceled due to lack of quorum.

A meeting of the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp. set for Thursday also was canceled because of insufficient membership.

The HHFDC already was down to seven members because of two vacancies. While that tally is sufficient for a quorum, the meeting was canceled after the resignations of chairman Paul Kyno and vice chairman Ralph Mesick and the absence of a third member who was out of state.

"We’re trying to have an interim (member) appointed so we have a little bit more of a cushion for future meetings," said Kent Miyasaki, HHFDC public information officer. The board is trying to reschedule a meeting with the five remaining members.

State Budget Director Kalbert Young, who holds a seat on the HHFDC board, noted that it meets only once a month, making every meeting important.

"Canceling meetings for any reason, I’m sure, creates a delay for any of the projects that are trying to work their way through the entitlement process through HHFDC, and there are a number of projects because HHFDC is in the business of building affordable rental housing and empowering developers to provide that housing," Young said. "Canceling meetings is going to just further exacerbate an already lengthy entitlement process."

The new law, Senate Bill 2682, took effect Tuesday without Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s signature. It requires members of 15 boards and commissions to make public their annual financial disclosure statements.

Citing privacy concerns, regents Carl Carlson and Tom Shi­ge­moto resigned last week from the university’s 15-member board. Last month, John Dean and Sae­dene Ota resigned from their regents posts. Ota, Shigemoto and Carlson were members of the six-person Committee on Community Colleges.

Five members of the nine-person Land Use Commission have resigned.

The Legislature unanimously approved the bill during the 2014 session. The measure was to ensure that "members of the public, especially those who are involved with and may be impacted by a board or commission member’s action, are able to identify and raise concerns about possible conflicts of interest," according to a committee report.

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Star-Advertiser reporter Nanea Kalani contributed to this report.