The state Ethics Commission will make public the detailed financial disclosure forms of members of 15 boards and commissions in June rather than next year.

The powerful entities include the Board of Land and Natural Resources and the Public Utilities Commission.

A law that took effect in July makes those disclosure forms public, but the details could have remained confidential until 2016 because only short forms are required in odd-numbered years.

Short forms allow filers to check a box indicating there were no changes from the previous year’s filing, rather than listing details of their holdings.

The Ethics Commission staff will send letters to the board and commission members this week, letting them know that they can file either a long form or a short form by June 1. If they file a short form that refers to the previous year’s filing, that previous filing will be made public, said Les Kondo, the commission’s executive director.

The commission voted at its meeting Wednesday to send the letters.

The long form requires filers to list sources and amounts of income for themselves, their spouses and dependent children, along with ownership of businesses, debts, creditors and real property, except their homes. Dollar amounts may be in broad ranges rather than precise figures. Filers also must list officerships or directorships, as well as clients represented before state agencies.

Act 230, which took effect July 8, made the financial disclosure statements public. Previously they were confidential, accessible only to the commission.

The passage of the law prompted about two dozen people, including four University of Hawaii regents, to resign from positions because they didn’t want to divulge their finances publicly.

The goal of making the forms public is to allow more people to monitor the disclosures for potential conflicts of interest. The Ethics Commission isn’t equipped to keep tabs on all the activities of commissions and their board members, Kondo said.

"It’s always been the position of this office that the people who are best able to raise a potential conflict are the people who are interested in what the board is doing," he said. "That generally is the public: people who are interested in whatever matter the board is considering."

Elected officials, directors and deputy directors of state departments have filed public financial disclosure forms for years. Most members of boards and commissions are volunteers, but Public Utilities Commission members work full time for the state.

The entities whose financial disclosures will be made public after the June 1 filing deadline:

» Board of Regents, University of Hawaii

» Agribusiness Development Corp.

» Board of Agriculture

» State Ethics Commission

» Hawaii Community Development Authority

» Hawaiian Homes Commission

» Housing Finance and Development Corp.

» Board of Land and Natural Resources

» Land Use Commission

» Legacy Land Conservation Commission

» Natural Area Reserves System Commission

» Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii

» Hawaii Public Housing Authority

» Public Utilities Commission

» Commission on Water Resource Management

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State financial disclosures are posted online at ethics.hawaii.gov.