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WHEREAS, on March 27, 2025, Honolulu Civil Beat published a news story titled "FBI Recorded Hawaii Lawmaker Being Given $35,000," which included a document filed in the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii on March 24, 2023 by the United States Attorney’s Office(“Government’s Motion for a Downward Departure”) that was formerly sealed and improperly redacted which stated in paragraph six that in 2022 former State Representative Ty Cullen, acting in cooperation with federal law-enforcement authorities, made an undercover recording of an unknown individual providing “an influential state legislator” with approximately $35,000 for the purported use in “an existing campaign”; and

WHEREAS, to date, it appears no federal criminal charges have been filed against the “influential state legislator,” whose identity remains undisclosed and who may still be serving as a member of the Hawaii State Legislature; and

WHEREAS, a member of the House of Representatives from the Twenty-sixth Representative District, Representative Della Au Belatti, wrote a letter to Acting United States Attorney Kenneth M. Sorenson on May 19, 2025 stating in part: "It has been over three years since your office learned about the unnamed influential state legislator who received the $35,000 on January 20, 2022. In the interest of justice, accountability, and to promote good government, I respectfully request you, as the Acting United States Attorney, release information from your office's investigations immediately"; and

WHEREAS, Representative Belatti and the Representative from the Forty-third Representative District, Representative Kanani Souza, wrote an inquiry letter to the Attorney General's Office, the Campaign Spending Commission, and the Hawaii State Ethics Commission dated July 20, 2025; and

WHEREAS, the July 20, 2025 letter to the Attorney General's Office, the Campaign Spending Commission, and the Hawaii State Ethics Commission stated in part: "Following Representative Belatti's letter to Mr. Sorenson, which was also sent to your offices, she met with him to discuss his office's policies regarding the possible release of investigative reports to other law enforcement agencies. He indicated during that meeting that if there were state law enforcement officials interested in these reports, a request could be made directly to his office and/or the Federal Bureau of Investigation"; and

WHEREAS, Representatives Belatti and Souza received written correspondence thereafter from the Campaign Spending Commission dated July 22, 2025, the Attorney General's office dated July 23, 2025, and the Hawaii State Ethics Commission dated July 31, 2025; and

WHEREAS, in particular, the July 23, 2025 letter from the Attorney General to Representatives Belatti and Souza stated in part: "Should Acting United States Attorney Kenneth M. Sorenson deem that state law enforcement assistance with any federal investigation is appropriate, I have every confidence he will make that request"; and

WHEREAS, the Speaker of the House, Nadine K. Nakamura, wrote letters to the Attorney General dated November 7, 2025 and the Acting United States Attorney dated November 7, 2025 regarding the $35,000 payment; and

WHEREAS, the Speaker of the House stated in her November 7, 2025 letter to the Attorney General the following in part: "Given the seriousness of the allegations and the potential involvement of a current member of the Legislature, I respectfully request that your office review the attached filing, and any other available data, to determine whether any Hawai’i state laws may have been violated. I recognize that a federal investigation may still be ongoing, and my request is not intended to interfere with or duplicate federal efforts. However, if warranted, I ask that you consider initiating an appropriate investigation or referral to the relevant division within your department, in coordination with federal authorities as necessary"; and

WHEREAS, the Attorney General responded to the November 7, 2025 letter from the Speaker of the House in a letter dated November 13, 2025, which states in part: "I have every confidence that the Office of the United States Attorney is thoroughly investigating the matter referenced in your letter. To the extent that the Department of the Attorney General can assist in that effort, we welcome that wholeheartedly. The Department of the Attorney General has forged a strong partnership with the Office of the United States Attorney and federal law enforcement. My Department’s Special Investigation and Prosecution Division was created by the Legislature, in part, to investigate public-integrity and corruption crimes, and some of its Deputy Attorneys General are specially designated Assistant United States Attorneys. However, we cannot take any investigative steps that could potentially undermine or interfere with that active federal investigation"; and

WHEREAS, the Speaker of the House inquired in her November 7, 2025 letter to the Acting United States Attorney the following in part: "1. Is the federal investigation referenced in the March 24, 2023 filing still active? 2. Would parallel investigations by state authorities complement or potentially interfere with your office’s work?"; and

WHEREAS, the United States Attorney responded to the November 7, 2025 letter from the Speaker of the House in a letter dated November 10, 2025, which states in part: "You have asked two questions: 1. Is the federal investigation referenced in the March 24, 2023 filing still active? As we have publicly represented to the District Court in related FOIA litigation, our investigation is active. 2. Would parallel investigations by state authorities compliment or potentially interfere with your office’s work? At this point a parallel investigation by state authorities would potentially interfere with our investigation"; and

WHEREAS, on or about January 5, 2026, former Federal Defender Alexander Silvert, a member of the public, submitted a petition to the Speaker of the House pursuant to House Rule 46, requesting that the House of Representatives, under its authority provided by Chapter 21, Hawaii Revised Statutes, convene an investigative committee to look into the $35,000 payment; and

WHEREAS, Silvert also submitted the same petition to the Senate requesting that the President of the Senate, pursuant to Senate Rule 67, under its authority provided by Chapter 21, Hawaii Revised Statutes, convene an investigative committee to look into the $35,000 payment; and

WHEREAS, the petition included 929 Hawaii resident signatures; and

WHEREAS, on January 7, 2026, the Attorney General of the State of Hawaii announced in a press release that the Attorney General and the United States Attorney’s office agreed that a parallel state investigation regarding the $35,000 payment recipient would interfere with the ongoing federal investigation; and

WHEREAS, on January 14, 2026, Representatives Belatti and Souza, in addition to several other Representatives, wrote a letter to Governor Josh Green stating in part: "We are writing to request that you invoke your statutory power under Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes (HRS) § 28-2.5(a) to direct the Attorney General of the State of Hawaiʻi, Anne Lopez, to

immediately investigate the matter regarding the $35,000 payment that was provided to an unknown state legislator in 2022 which was secretly recorded by former State Representative Ty

Cullen and made public in March of 2025"; and

WHEREAS, on January 14, 2026, Representatives Belatti and Souza, in addition to several other Representatives, wrote a letter to Acting United States Attorney Kenneth M. Sorenson stating in part the following: "In light of this constitutional obligation to the people of Hawai‘i and inasmuch as we respect

your duties and responsibilities, we ask that you respect our constitutional obligations and answer the one question listed below by Friday, January 16, 2026, so that we can appropriately

and timely address this matter when our legislative session begins next week: Is the legislator who accepted the $35,000 in a paper bag a current sitting legislator?"; and

WHEREAS, on January 20, 2026, Representatives Belatti and Souza, in addition to several other Representatives, wrote a letter to the Speaker of the House and the House Chief Attorney, Reese Nakamura, stating in part: "Because of the importance of these matters, please respond in writing to the following questions at least 72 hours in advance of the Petition being presented to the House pursuant to House Rule 46.2: (1) When will the Petition be presented to the House pursuant to House Rule 46.2? (2) What are the procedures and rules that apply to the deliberation and decisionmaking by the entire House on the Petition and its request for the House to conduct a limited investigation into the conduct of the legislator who accepted $35,000?"; and

WHEREAS, on January 20, 2026, Representative Belatti received a phone call from the Acting United States Attorney informing her that the Attorney General was commencing an investigation regarding the $35,000 payment; and

WHEREAS, on January 20, 2026, the Attorney General of the State of Hawaii reversed course and announced in a press release that its office has initiated an investigation regarding the $35,000 payment following an agreement by federal authorities to share evidence; and

WHEREAS, upholding the doctrine of separation of powers, the executive branch has separate and distinct duties from the legislative branch; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii Revised Statues §28-2.5 Investigations(a) states the following: "The attorney general shall investigate alleged violations of the law when directed to do so by the governor, or when the attorney general determines that an investigation would be in the public interest"; and

WHEREAS, Chapter 21, Hawaii Revised Statues, authorizes either chamber of the Legislature to establish investigative committees vested with the power to issue subpoenas, administer oaths, compel the production of documents, and hold individuals in contempt if they fail to comply with a subpoena, among other powers; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii Revised Statues §21-3(b) Establishment of investigating committees by legislature, states the following: “The concurrent or single house resolution or statute establishing an investigating committee shall state the committee's purposes, powers, duties and duration, the subject matter and scope of its investigatory authority, and the number of its members"; and

WHEREAS, the investigative committee’s purpose is to (1) investigate the alleged 2022 transaction involving the delivery of $35,000 in cash or checks from an unknown individual to an unidentified “influential state legislator,” (2) determine whether any state criminal statutes, campaign finance laws, ethics rules, or other laws were violated by any individual involved, (3) Examine the adequacy of existing laws, rules, and enforcement mechanisms intended to prevent corruption, bribery, improper influence, or misuse of campaign funds, (4) Receive testimony, compel the attendance of witnesses, require the production of records and documents, and conduct public hearings in accordance with Chapter 21, Hawaii Revised Statutes; (5) Prepare findings and recommendations, including legislative proposals to strengthen anti-corruption safeguards, increase transparency, and improve ethical oversight within state government; and (6) Refer any evidence of potential criminal, civil, or administrative violations to the Attorney General, the Hawaii State Ethics Commission, the Campaign Spending Commission, or any other appropriate authority; and

WHEREAS, the investigative committee’s powers shall include the entire scope of the investigative committee’s authority under Chapter 21, Hawaii Revised Statues; and

WHEREAS, the investigative committee’s duties shall include the investigation of the facts and circumstances surrounding the $35,000 payment through its powers established under Chapter 21, Hawaii Revised Statues, prepare findings and recommendations, and refer any evidence of potential criminal, civil, or administrative violations to the Attorney General, the Hawaii State Ethics Commission, the Campaign Spending Commission, or any other appropriate authority; and

WHEREAS, the investigative committee shall exist until the completion of its duties, with no definitive time frame; and

WHEREAS, the subject matter and scope of the investigative committee's investigatory authority shall encompass the facts and circumstances regarding the $35,000 payment that was provided in a brown paper bag to the unknown state legislator; and

WHEREAS, the investigative committee shall consist of five members, of which one member shall serve as the chairperson. At least one member from the minority party shall serve on the investigative committee; and

WHEREAS, it is possible that the $35,000 payment recipient may be a sitting member of the legislature or a former member of the legislature working in the executive branch of state government; and

WHEREAS, Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure, 2020 Edition, adopted as the parliamentary authority of the House under House Rule 61, states in Chapter 74, Section 796, Part 1 Investigations Respecting Members: "Either house of the legislature has the power to investigate and institute an inquiry into the truth of an alleged bribery of any of its members or the members of a previous legislature connected with its legislative functions. In the exercise of such power, it must necessarily have the same power to compel the attendance of witnesses before it or before a committee and compel them to testify as in any other investigation"; and

WHEREAS, Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure, 2020 Edition, adopted as the parliamentary authority of the House, states in Chapter 74, Section 798, Part 3 Method of Investigation by a Legislative Body: "Where the legislature has constitutional power to institute an investigation, the manner of conducting such investigation rests on the sound discretion of the legislature"; and

WHEREAS, Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure, 2020 Edition, adopted as the parliamentary authority of the House, states in Chapter 75, Section 805, Part 5 Maintaining Order in Legislative Bodies: "A legislative body has the right to regulate its own halls"; and

WHEREAS, transparency and oversight are essential components of ethical governance and are necessary to preserve public trust and ensure adherence to the rule of law; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2026, that the House of Representatives establishes an Investigative Committee pursuant to Chapter 21, Hawaii Revised Statutes to:

(1) Investigate the alleged 2022 transaction involving the delivery of $35,000 in cash or checks from an unknown individual to an unidentified “influential state legislator”;

(2) Determine whether any state criminal statutes, campaign finance laws, ethics rules, or other laws were violated by any individual involved;

(3) Examine the adequacy of existing laws, rules, and enforcement mechanisms intended to prevent corruption, bribery, improper influence, or misuse of campaign funds;

(4) Receive testimony, compel the attendance of witnesses, require the production of records and documents, and conduct public hearings in accordance with Chapter 21, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

(5) Prepare findings and recommendations, including legislative proposals to strengthen anti-corruption safeguards, increase transparency, and improve ethical oversight within state government; and

(6) Refer any evidence of potential criminal, civil, or administrative violations to the Attorney General, the Hawaii State Ethics Commission, the Campaign Spending Commission, or any other appropriate authority; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint the members of the investigative committee, designate the chairperson, and authorize the committee to employ staff, legal counsel, or other resources necessary to carry out its duties; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the Senate, the Attorney General, the Hawaii State Ethics Commission, the Campaign Spending Commission, and the United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	9
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII