Hawaii Legislature Rarely Uses Its Own Process To Investigate Lawmakers
The dormant House Select Standards of Conduct Committee raises questions about whether self-policing really works or if an independent agency is needed.
By Chad Blair
October 16, 2024 · 9 min read
About the Author
Chad Blair is the politics editor for Civil Beat. You can reach him by email at cblair@civilbeat.org or follow him on Twitter at @chadblairCB.
The dormant House Select Standards of Conduct Committee raises questions about whether self-policing really works or if an independent agency is needed.
When the Hawaii State Ethics Commission last month fined a state legislator $12,500 for campaign financial disclosure violations, the case was referred to House Speaker Scott Saiki. The commission can only fine a representative, not discipline them.
But as of this week the commission had not received a formal response from Saiki, even though the rules of the Hawaii House of Representatives on legislative conduct indicate that action is required.
House rules state that the speaker “shall appoint” a select committee to investigate complaints for misconduct, disorderly conduct, neglect of duty and violation of the state’s Code of Ethics. That law addresses campaign activities, disclosure requirements, gifts, conflicts of interest, fair treatment, nepotism and outside employment, among other things.
House leadership did not respond to Civil Beat’s questions about Rep. David Alcos, who acknowledged violating the law.
House leaders also did not respond to questions about the long-standing special committee to investigate allegations of misconduct. The House Select Committee on Standards of Conduct appears to have rarely convened since its inception 16 years ago.
And House rules state that complaints against representatives cannot be made during an election year from the filing deadline, which was June 4 this year, until one day after the general election, Nov. 5 this year.
Saiki told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser last month that the standards committee had never met in his seven years as speaker, even though the past decade has seen well-publicized incidents of questionable behavior on the part of legislators such as arrests for drunken driving.
The Alcos ethics case underscores concerns that the Legislature doesn’t do much about legislators who behave badly, and whether the public would even hear about it if they did.
Members of both chambers and parties say a big reason is that legislators are reluctant to speak out for fear of retaliation.
“Anyone who complains, forget your bills,” said Sen. Les Ihara, a longtime Democratic lawmaker who has pushed for ethical reforms and was the author of a 2007 bill that called for setting up legislative ethics committees. “You do it at your own risk.”
Like Ihara, Republican Rep. Gene Ward has served in the Legislature for decades. In 2007 he also pushed for establishing the standards committee.
In spite of its existence, however, Ward could not recall any instances in which the House had activated the standards committee and only two where the House formally acted when a member was charged with misbehaving.
To Ward, that illustrates the House should do a better job minding its own store.
“You got all these rules but you don’t enforce them,” said Ward, referring not just to matters of ethics but basic legislative protocols such as adhering to rules of order during floor debate.
“We do not objectively look at ourselves, just like one lawyer will refuse or will not sue another lawyer,” he said. He added that an outside monitor such as a legislative ombudsman might be needed.
“It sounds like it’s a great idea whose time has not yet come,” he said.
Air Ambulances, Cruise Ships, DUIs
The standards committee was established so long ago that several former representatives involved in its drafting told Civil Beat they could not recall exactly what led to its formation.
They include then-House Speaker Calvin Say and then-House Majority Leader Kirk Caldwell, who both said they did recall the House had concerns at the time about nepotism.
Ward initially confused the Select Committee on Standards of Conduct with 2022’s Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct. The latter, formed following bribery charges against former state Sen. J. Kalani English and former House Rep. Ty Cullen, is better known as the Foley commission because it was chaired by retired judge Dan Foley.
Like the Foley commission, the 2008 standards committee was also inspired by disconcerting news stories involving legislators. They included English, who paid a fine for accepting free rides on Hawaii Air Ambulance from Oahu to his district in Maui, and state Sen. Brian Kanno, who tried to retaliate against Norwegian Cruise Line on behalf of a man who had been fired over allegations of sexual harassment.
Both cases came before the Hawaii State Ethics Commission, which had just been granted authority by the Legislature to levy fines for unethical behavior.
Another incident that helped spur the push toward reform came in 2007 when Jon Riki Karamatsu, at the time the House vice speaker, was arrested for losing control of his car and striking a concrete pillar on Moanalua Freeway. He failed a field sobriety test.
Lawmakers gave considerable thought to the powers of the standards committee. The section of the rules on it are so lengthy and detailed they comprise fully one-quarter of the 76-page House rules.
The standards committee is authorized to perform like a court, including calling witnesses, ordering depositions and presenting evidence.
The proceedings would be open to the public through broadcast and the accompanying materials would be posted for viewing. And if the committee decided that the allegations were factual, a member could be censured, expelled and required to pay restitution.
The member could appeal the ruling, but the House could also choose to share information and documents from the committee’s work with executive and judicial branch officials.
The standards committee’s work is triggered when a House member reports a sworn complaint alleging that a representative has violated a law, the House Code of Legislative Conduct “or any rule of the House relating to conduct of any individual in the performance of duties” as a representative “or has engaged in improper conduct which may reflect negatively upon the House.”
The code of legislative conduct, part of the House rules, outlines specific guidelines for members to conduct themselves “in a respectful manner befitting the office with which they as elected officials have been entrusted.” Members must respect and comply with the law and act at all times “in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity of the House.”
The House has occasionally formed committees when allegations of wrongdoing arise. It’s not clear, however, if it’s the same committee as the standards committee.
Two years ago, for instance, a special House committee decided not to formally rebuke Rep. Sharon Har for a driving under the influence arrest in 2021. By that time, a District Court judge had already dismissed the case citing an error made in charging Har and a lack of evidence to proceed.
Another special House committee, this one in 2015, determined that Say, who at the time was no longer the speaker, had not violated residency rules. Civil Beat reported at the time that the legislative committee’s work involved a quasi-judicial hearing, “the first of its kind in Hawaii.”
The residency challenge was the fifth time in nine years Say had been questioned about whether he lived in Palolo Valley, which was in his district, or Pauoa Valley, which was not. The most recent complaint against Say came not from legislators but voters in his district. Say was also exonerated in court.
Say, who is retiring from politics this year after serving on the Honolulu City Council, said a standards committee can be useful — even if it hasn’t been used much thus far.
“It will be a great tool for future speakers to consider in using it,” he said. “If there is a complaint filed to the speaker’s office, the select committee will be the committee to investigate.”
The state Senate has a brief section on dealing with misconduct in its own rules, including the option of setting up a special investigative committee of its own.
But, like the House, the Senate appears to have infrequently publicly examined its members when complaints arise.
Both have looked into complaints against lawmakers over the past decade including challenges to district residency and verbal and sexual harassment. In 2015, for example, a special committee charged with investigating Sen. Brickwood Galuteria recommended that he be allowed to keep his seat despite a constituent complaint alleging he did not actually live in his district of Kakaako and so had committed tax fraud.
Like Say, Galuteria was ultimately cleared by outside agencies. He is today a trustee with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
When Scandal Ends Careers
Sometimes it is an outside body such as a court or state agency that has made the final determination on whether a legislator acted in the wrong. Those cases include that of former House Speaker Joe Souki, who was forced to resign in 2018 after admitting he sexually harassed numerous women over the years in his office.
Media attention and public shame are also factors, as seen in a 1989 arrest of a state senator for soliciting sex in Waikiki that ended his political career, and the 2005 conviction of a state representative for sexual misconduct on an airplane.
Several lawmakers have also had to answer to voters who have on more than one occasion declined to reelect lawmakers who served under ethical clouds.
The reluctance to self-police has given rise to the idea that an independent agency be created to provide greater oversight of the Legislature, as it essentially governs itself.
But the Legislature has shown little appetite for the idea. A bill to create an office of the public advocate to investigate and report on allegations of misconduct and operations of the Legislature and its members, for example, was killed early in the 2023 session.
If the House decides to take more seriously its responsibility to investigate colleagues when troubles arise, they might want to look to Congress. The House standards committee was modeled on its federal counterpart, which has been known to act.
Last November, for instance, the House Ethics Committee found that there was substantial evidence that GOP Rep. George Santos had violated federal law and engaged in a “complex web” of illegal activity involving his finances, as CBS News reported.
Santos, representing New York, soon announced he would not seek reelection. By December, the House — run by the same party as Santos belonged to — expelled him.
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ContributeAbout the Author
Chad Blair is the politics editor for Civil Beat. You can reach him by email at cblair@civilbeat.org or follow him on Twitter at @chadblairCB.
Latest Comments (0)
Shameless virtue signaling = Saiki's reelection loss.Similar reelection losses should happen to more politicians who forgot that they are supposed to be public servants and represent their constituents, not their pocketbooks and self-benefit.Until then, these politicians will continue to feel emboldened to act as they please, scr*w their constituents.
Auntie · 2 months ago
You got's to be kidding?! *ROFLMAO* What is this? A gathered body of lawmakers or a bunch of middle school/intermediate kids?Why a kangaroo court? So sophomoric. Yeah, hit 'em in the wallet *rolling eyes*.Televised open rip session will put them in their place. Public embarrassment. If you make yourself a horse's okole in public, public officials and lawmakers deserve to be fined, censured and maybe not re-elected.Last month, in the House Oversight Committee hearing, a verbal exchange between Congresswoman (D-TX) Jasmine Crockett and Congresswoman (GA-R) Majorie Taylor-Greene blew up the Internet (You Tube) and the talk show circuit for Crockett.The verbal exchange is one for the ages. The look on Congressman chair James Comer was pure priceless.Google "Bleach-Blonde Bad-Built Butch-Body"
808_Refugee · 2 months ago
The legislature will fairly and comprehensively investigate its own members and punish those who are involved in corruption. Just give it a few decades to work out the details.
Fred_Garvin · 2 months ago
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