The Hawaii State Ethics Commission welcomed Robert D. Harris as its new executive director.

Harris is replacing Daniel Gluck, who served as the executive director from 2016 until the end of 2021.

Last year Gluck was nominated to a vacancy on the Intermediate Court of Appeals, but the nomination failed after senators raised concerns about the court’s lack of diversity.

Q: The Hawaii State Ethics Commission just released updates to their administrative rules. As a registered lobbyist in the state, how do these changes affect me?

A: First, the Ethics Commission’s changes clarify gift rules for registered lobbyists and their clients. “Gifts of aloha,” items with a value of less than $25, are no longer permitted. Lobbyists were previously allowed to give legislators and their staff items such as food, reusable water bottles, and other trinkets because of ambiguity in the governing statutes; however, the new rules make it clear that this practice is now prohibited. Furthermore, any gift given to a legislator’s office where a recipient is not specified will be deemed a gift to the legislator.

Other items, however, are still permitted. Lei, excluding money lei, as well as promotional pens, notebooks, hats, etc. are allowed. Travel to bona fide professional conferences, including modest food and beverage, are also still permitted. To determine if a gift is permissible, the Ethics Commission strongly encourages consultation with a member of the staff to avoid potential monetary penalties.

A few additional items of clarification simply spell out longstanding advice from the Commission.  All expenditures should be reported on an accrual basis beginning January 1, 2021, and time drafting and providing testimony, as well as time spent waiting to testify, are included in determining if the registration threshold has been met. Finally, individuals engaging in “background work” at the direction of a registered lobbyist do not have to register so long as they do not communicate directly with public officials.

The Hawaii State Ethics Commission voted to accept new testimony prior to its public hearing on May 21.

The hearing is specifically concerning proposed amendments to the state lobbying and gift rules.

In order to consider the new testimony, the Commission deferred the matter to its next meeting scheduled for mid-June.

The proposals include:

• Clarifications as to what activities constitute lobbying
• Exclusions from lobbyist registration requirements
• A requirement that expenditures be reported on an accrual rather than cash basis.

Additionally, the proposals would amend prohibitions on certain kinds of gifts, valuation of gifts, and gift disclosure statements.

Once the Commission approves the rules, the rules are subject to approval by the Department of the Attorney General and the governor. Afterward, they will be posted with the Office of the Lieutenant Governor for a period of 10 days before becoming effective.

On April 24, the Hawaii State Ethics Commission further extended the deadline for lobbyist and employer activity reports to June 1 in response to COVID-19.

Originally, reports for the January 1 to February 29 period were due on March 31.

The stay-at-home orders prompted the commission to extend the deadline to April 30.

Now the deadline has been further extended to June 1.

This does not affect lobbyist and employer activity reports due June 1 for the reporting period of March 1 to April 30.

The Hawaii State Ethics Commission has rescheduled its public hearing on proposed administrative rules concerning amendments to state lobbying and gift laws for May 7.

Due to COVID-19 concerns, the original date of March 19 was postponed.

The proposals include:

• Clarifications as to what activities constitute lobbying
• Exclusions from lobbyist registration requirements
• A requirement that expenditures be reported on an accrual rather than cash basis

Additionally, the proposals would amend prohibitions on certain kinds of gifts, valuation of gifts, and gift disclosure statements.

In response to COVID-19, the Hawaii State Ethics Commission issued an order.

The order extends the deadline for lobbyist and employer activity reports to April 30.

Originally, the reports were scheduled to be due on March 31 for the reporting period of January 1 to February 29.

If, as expected, the various state or county stay-at-home orders are still in place near the end of April, those deadlines will be extended again to May 31.

The Hawaii State Ethics Commission will hold a special meeting on Friday, March 27, in response to COVID-19.

Currently, lobbyist and employer activity reports are due on Tuesday, March 31, for the period of January 1 to February 29.

Additionally, Commission members will consider issuing an order to extend the deadline to April 30.

Due to COVID-19 concerns, the Hawaii State Ethics Commission has postponed its public hearing on proposed administrative rules concerning amendments to state lobbying and gift laws scheduled for March 19.

While a new date has not been established, the ethics commission indicated the public hearing will likely take place in early May.

The proposals include:

• • Clarifications as to what activities constitute lobbying
  • Exclusions from lobbyist registration requirements
  • Requirements that expenditures be reported on an accrual rather than cash basis

Additionally, the proposals amend prohibitions on certain kinds of gifts, valuation of gifts, and gift disclosure statements.

The Hawaii State Ethics Commission will hold a public hearing on its proposed administrative rules on March 19.

These proposals will include amendments to the state lobbying and gift laws.

The committee will also review changes to Title 21, addressing procedures such as issuing advisory opinions.

Decisions on the proposed rules will either take place at the conclusion of the public hearing or at a properly noticed meeting of the ethics commission.

The Hawaii State Ethics Commission’s electronic filing system for lobbying disclosures is now available.

The E-Filing System allows for filing of lobbyist registrations and expenditures reports.

The E-Filing system is available at: https://hawaiiethics.force.com/lobbying/s/

On Thursday, June 22, Gov. David Ige signed three bills amending state lobbying and ethics laws.

Among other things, the bills double the maximum administrative fine the State Ethics Commission may impose for violations of ethics or lobbying laws, amends various lobbying-related definitions, allows a former lobbyist employer to file a notice of termination when a lobbyist fails to do so, and clarifies lobbyist reporting requirements related to special legislative sessions.

The bills were effective upon approval.

Photo of Gov. Ige By Dallas Nagata White via Wikimedia Commons

Dan Gluck is the new executive director of the Hawaii State Ethics Commission. Gluck served as legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii before being unanimously selected by the commission. He replaces Les Kondo, who was appointed by the state Legislature to serve as state auditor.

The Hawaii State Ethics Commission is currently accepting applications for Executive Director to replace former executive director and chief legal counsel, Leslie Kondo. The Legislature appointed Kondo as the new state auditor in April; his eight-year term began May 1.

Kondo spent the last five years cracking down on certain activities by lawmakers and issuing strict interpretations of the state ethics code. While no longer monitoring legislative ethics, Kondo believes his new position will allow him to continue to promote public confidence in state government.

The Hawaii State Ethics Commission has selected Mr. Leslie H. Kondo to serve as the new Executive Director, effective January 11, 2011.

Kondo has served as a member of the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission since 2007, and has previously served as the director of the State Office of Information Practices. Mr. Kondo holds a law degree from the University of Hawaii.