Editorial: Cleaning up corruption

Hawaii governments have a corruption problem. There are too many instances of unlawful behavior by public employees and public officials at both state and county levels to refute the charge, including wastewater business owner Milton Choy’s shocking bribe dispersal to former state Sen. J. Kalani English, ex-state Rep. Ty Cullen, and former head of the Maui County Department of Environmental Management Stewart Stant, all of whom have pleaded guilty.

The latest sorry example is former city Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) building plans examiner Wayne Inouye, who pleaded guilty this week to wire fraud and accepting nearly $100,000 in bribes to expedite approval of DPP permits in past years. Four others have pleaded guilty to participating in the pay-to-permit scheme.

After English and Cullen were arrested for taking bribes, Hawaii’s Legislature authorized a state Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct, formed in the first quarter of 2022. The standards commission will deliver a final report and recommendations to the Legislature, including draft legislation, on Dec. 2.

To the extent that these recommendations will increase transparency, make corrupt acts more difficult and less likely, remove opportunities for “pay to play” arrangements that may now be classified as legal, and increase the penalties for corrupt behavior, the 2023 Legislature must act aggressively to turn this tide and discourage both criminal and quid pro quo behavior by our public servants.

The commission brought preliminary recommendations to legislators earlier this year. The reaction, though, was disappointingly tepid. The 2022 Legislature did ban fundraising events for state and county officials during legislative sessions, but failed to ban all forms of fundraising.

A complete ban on accepting donations during state legislative sessions will be recommended again, and we urge adoption. This ban would also apply to the lieutenant governor and the governor, elected county council members and mayors, and elected Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees.

Also under consideration are expansion of the open-meetings law as applied to the Legislature, term limits — sure to be hotly debated — and increased mandatory disclosure of lobbyists’ and lobbying organizations’ financial interests, all worthwhile.

To see the commission’s work and submit comments, go to 808ne.ws/Standards.