A new round of bills have been introduced — or are pending introduction — at the newly convened state Legislature, with the goal of continuing to crack down on government corruption ever since the federal guilty pleas of the former Senate majority leader and the then-vice chair of the House Finance Committee on bribery charges in the early weeks of the 2022 legislative session.
Retired Intermediate Court of Appeals Judge Dan Foley led the Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct that former House Speaker Scott Saiki created amid public outrage over the crimes committed by the two elected officials.
Foley remains optimistic the Legislature will continue to send bills to Gov. Josh Green to clamp down on campaign donations and other behavior that has gotten politicians in trouble.
Former Senate Majority Leader J. Kalani English and then-Rep. Ty J.K. Cullen, both Democrats, admitted accepting cash, casino chips, Las Vegas hotel rooms and dinners in exchange for influencing legislation to benefit a company involved in publicly financed cesspool conversion projects. English was sentenced to three years, three months in federal prison, while Cullen received a two-year term.
In the wake of their 2022 guilty pleas to “honest services wire fraud,” Foley said “there was a sense of urgency” among legislators to pass the 28 recommendations made by the commission because of “the public outrage.”
The Legislature ended up turning 20 of the 28 recommendations into law.
“That was quite an accomplishment,” Foley said.
But following the deadly Aug. 8, 2023, Maui wildfires that killed 102 people and displaced thousands, Foley said the Legislature turned its attention last year to dealing with the aftermath of the disaster, “and the sense of urgency dissipated.”
This year, after talking to key legislators, Foley said “the sense of urgency is gone.”
“The (remaining) recommendations of the commission were tabled and should be reconsidered,” he said. “The work has not been completed. More government reform is merited.”
While enthusiasm for further changes has waned at the state Capitol, Foley said “constituents realize the work of government reform has not ended.”
House Bill 390 and Senate Bill 283, introduced on behalf of the Honolulu prosecuting attorney’s office, would increase the penalties for bribing an elected or appointed official and for any official who solicits bribes. Under the proposals, bribery would be elevated to a class A felony from a class B felony, without the possibility of parole or a suspended sentence.
Anyone convicted of bribery also would not be allowed to enter a no-contest plea or receive a deferred acceptance of guilty plea, which allows a defendant to put off their guilty plea and avoid conviction if they complete the terms of the agreement.
A separate bill, HB 493, would repeal legislators’ exemption from Hawaii’s ethics laws.
Legislators have introduced a series of other bills this session, many on behalf of the Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission, Hawaii Ethics Commission and Common Cause Hawaii, which advocates for greater transparency in government.
The bills would, among other things, create term limits for the Legislature, Hawaii’s only elected body whose members can serve indefinitely. But legislators repeatedly have refused to pass any laws that would limit how long they can hold office.
Supporters of term limits argue that veteran legislators increasingly rely on campaign donors for reelection, which makes them more susceptible to donors’ interests over the interests of their constituents.
HB 764 proposes an amendment to the state Constitution that would limit legislators’ terms starting after the 2028 general election. The bill does not specify how many terms legislators could serve before being forced from office.
HB 495 also proposes a constitutional amendment that would limit lawmakers’ terms to 16 years.
Another bill, HB 488, would limit House terms to 10 consecutive years and Senate terms to 12 consecutive years.
It also proposes a constitutional amendment that would require any elected official convicted of a criminal offense relating to their duties to be permanently barred from holding elected or appointed office in the state and forfeit any “pension, benefits, or privileges associated with public office.”
Here are other reform measures introduced so far in the 2025 session:
w SB 258 and HB 372, introduced on behalf of the Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission, would prohibit state and county elected officials from soliciting and accepting campaign contributions any time the Legislature is in regular session or special session.
w HB 662 and SB 809 would limit the amount of campaign donations from a candidate’s “immediate family members” and limit the amount of donations an individual candidate or candidate committee can donate to their campaigns.
w HB 724 would remove the Legislature’s exemption from the state’s “Sunshine Law” requirements, such as notice requirements of public meetings. HB 494 would repeal the Legislature’s exemption regarding Hawaii’s open meetings law.
w HB 371, HB 765 and SB 257, introduced on behalf of the Campaign Spending Commission, would prohibit state and county contractors and their immediate family members from donating to candidates or their committees during the life of a contract.
w HB 412 would void government contracts when there are violations of state lobbying laws. It also would expand the definition of lobbying “to include certain communications with high-level government officials regarding procurement decisions.”
Several bills are intended to increase the amount of so-called public financing available to political candidates, which proponents argue makes candidates less reliant on campaign donors.
Candidates repeatedly say they are uncomfortable asking constituents for campaign donations, which they argue limits the pool of candidates with new ideas who are willing to seek political office.
The language and funding formula varies by various bills introduced this session.
They include SB 51, SB 256, SB 345, HB 370 and HB 766, which would increase the amount of public matching funds for candidates who meet the stringent requirements of the Hawaii Partial Public Financing Program.
