HCR8

WHEREAS, the House of Representatives adopted House Resolution No. 9 (2022) to establish the Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct; and

WHEREAS, House Resolution No. 9 requests the Commission ensure state laws and rules relating to standards of conduct of public officers and employees contain clear standards, enforcement, and penalties and provide recommendations to increase awareness of, compliance with, and deterrent effects of the Code of Ethics, lobbying laws, campaign finance laws, and other relevant laws and rules; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to House Resolution No. 9, the Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct convened regularly throughout 2022 to diligently review, discuss, and consider the issues presented, submitted an interim report to the house of representatives outlining areas of immediate and long-term focus, then continued its work with input from the public and invited individuals and agencies to issue a final report with various recommendations and accompanying proposed legislation; and

WHEREAS, the strength and stability of our democratic government rely upon the public's trust in government institutions, including the expectation that officers act ethically with prudence, integrity, and sound judgement; and

WHEREAS, an essential goal of the Commission was to provide recommendations that would help restore public trust in government and increase the level of transparency in its operations and accountability of individuals; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii State Constitution places a duty on all civil servants to "exhibit the highest standards of ethical conduct"; and

WHEREAS, recent allegations of corruption and ethics violations were made against several county officials throughout the State; and

WHEREAS, in the City and County of Honolulu, several Department of Planning and Permitting employees were charged with and pled guilty to accepting bribes in exchange for expediting the permitting process for projects; and

WHEREAS, in the County of Hawaii, a former Hawaii County housing official was charged with and later plead guilty to one felony charge of honest services wire fraud, after accepting nearly $2,000,000 in bribes and kickbacks in exchange for the approval of affordable housing credits; and

WHEREAS, in the County of Maui, a former Maui County official was accused by federal prosecutors of taking $2,000,000 in bribes to steer $19,000,000 in contracts to certain companies and charged with conspiracy to deprive the public of their right to honest services; and

WHEREAS, these events have shaken the public's trust in the strength and integrity of the county governments; and

WHEREAS, to implement the recommendations of the Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct, a review of each county's government structure, including identifying problems and developing systematic improvements that will prevent future situations involving corruption and ethical violations, is needed to help restore the public's trust in government; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2023, the Senate concurring, that the county governments are urged to review their respective government structure to identify organizational risks of corruption and ethical violations and to develop systematic improvements to such risks; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the counties, when performing their respective reviews, are urged to:

(1) Examine and identify any gaps or shortfalls in government structure that could have contributed to the recent cases involving corruption or ethics violations by county employees within their respective jurisdictions;

(2) Consult with and use existing state and county resources and department and agency personnel to carry out the objectives of this Concurrent Resolution; and

(3) Develop mechanisms for county-level independent oversight of executive departments; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu; Mayors of the Counties of Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui; Chairperson of the Honolulu City Council; and Chairpersons of the Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui County Councils.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct; County Government; Systematic Review

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	8
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023
STATE OF HAWAII