A leading Democrat in the state House has introduced a bill to prohibit the governor and the four Hawaii mayors from accepting any outside employment or earnings while in office, a measure that, if passed, would most likely affect Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell.

House Majority Leader Scott Saiki said House Bill 71 was inspired by what he views as financial conflicts of interest involving President Donald Trump and his administration, and was not a response to the 2016 election-year controversy over Caldwell’s paid position on the Territorial Savings Bank board of directors.

“I just felt that Hawaii should make our standard clear for the governor and the mayors,” Saiki said.

Caldwell’s most recent financial disclosure on file with the city indicates he received between $200,000 and $299,999 in compensation as a director for Territorial in 2015 while he was also employed as a full-time mayor.

Caldwell has said he repeatedly asked former city Ethics Commission Executive Director Chuck Totto whether the bank position posed any conflict, and was told by Totto it did not. Both the bank and city officials have said that Territorial does not do any business with the city.

Still, the mayor’s income from Territorial was attacked during the recent campaign by Caldwell’s opponent, Charles Djou. Djou said he applauds Saiki for introducing the bill.

Djou said the city’s chief executive “should have one loyalty, and that’s to the people,” adding, “He’s already paid a full-time salary for a full-time job, and shouldn’t have a second job. … I think taking on a second job is utterly unethical and an abuse of power.”

Another critic of Caldwell was former Gov. Ben Cayetano, a Djou supporter who recalled he had to give up his law practice when he became lieutenant governor in 1986.

Cayetano said he was required by the state Constitution to withdraw from his law practice after he was elected lieutenant governor, which meant he took a significant financial hit. He said the same logic should apply to the mayors.

Cayetano said he does not ever recall a situation like Caldwell’s in Hawaii where a chief executive accepted paid outside employment.

“It doesn’t do the city any good to have a mayor who is collecting a million dollars from a private company,” Cayetano said. “When I was governor I was expected to be available 24/7. That’s part of the job.”

Saiki’s bill would prohibit any sitting Hawaii mayor or governor from holding any other employment while in office or from accepting any outside “salary, fee, payment, wage, earning, allowance, stipend, honorarium or reward.” That restriction would not apply to the chief executives’ official pay, pension income, Social Security or retirement.

Saiki said he is not aware of any conflict of interest involving Caldwell, but “my understanding is that this likely has never really happened before, and that’s why I think it’s important that we have a standard in Hawaii.”

He said his bill would allow the chief executives to devote themselves to public service and would minimize conflicts of interest.

He cited a federal lawsuit filed against Trump by a liberal watchdog group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington that alleges the U.S. Constitution prohibits Trump-owned businesses from accepting payments from foreign governments.

Trump has said he will no longer actively manage his companies during his time as president but will continue to own them.

“Hawaii can do better than the president and the Republican Congress,” said Saiki, who is a Democrat. “We should set a standard for ourselves.”

A spokesman for Caldwell said the mayor would not comment on the measure.

Jan Yamane, executive director of the Honolulu Ethics Commission, said city employees are not allowed to take on outside work that would be a perceived or actual conflict of interest, but they are allowed to take second jobs.

Daniel Gluck, executive director and general counsel of the Hawaii State Ethics Commission, said the commission does not have jurisdiction over county employees, and therefore he declined comment as to the bill’s impact on Hawaii’s mayors.

“As for the governor, the ethics commission supports the Legislature’s efforts to strengthen Hawaii’s conflict of interest laws,” Gluck said in a written statement. “These types of measures help to ensure that state officials focus on serving the people of Hawaii with the utmost integrity.”