Appointed and elected city officials could not receive more than $300 in gifts a year from "any one source" under a multipronged ethics reform bill introduced yesterday by Councilman Duke Bainum. City proposal would
cap gift-givingBy Gordon Y.K. Pang
gpang@starbulletin.comThe law now requires all city employees to report gifts in excess of $200 from those doing business with the city, but there are no limitations on how much a person can receive. City employees are also barred from requesting or receiving gifts that can be inferred as "intended to influence" their official actions.
There are currently no provisions, however, limiting the amounts anyone can receive.
Both Bainum and Chuck Totto, executive director for the city Ethics Commission, said other ethics-related ordinances may be in the offing for the city, plagued by the Ewa Villages scandal, the conviction of Councilman Andy Mirikitani over kickbacks from employees, and other highly publicized instances of questionable conduct in recent years.
Bainum said the $300 limit is a "somewhat arbitrary" proposal that is being used as a jump-off for discussion and could be changed.
"I know that unlimited is too much," Bainum said. "Socially, gift-giving is a part of our community, and we want to be sensitive to that. At the same time, we have to set up a commonsense amount."
He said another concern may be the ability for Council members and other city employees to take trips for legitimate purposes at the expense of outside entities.
Other portions of what Bainum described as an "omnibus ethics bill" would give more muscle to the Ethics Commission and the Office of the Corporation Counsel to fight moral breaches by city employees.
The proposals would:
>> Allow the Ethics Commission to transfer to other city, state or federal agencies any confidential documents it has for review and action in relation to a possible criminal violation.
>> Give the Ethics Commission authority to disclose the name of anyone violating ethics laws when the breach results in a suspension or discharge.
>> Increase the time during which city attorneys can void a city contract based on ethical breaches from 90 days to six months after the matter is referred to the Ethics Commission.
>> Increase the time during which city attorneys must recover benefits or losses resulting from an ethics breach to four years from the current two years from the time of a violation.
>> Allow the Ethics Commission to inform the City Council of when a person or entity is being unresponsive.
Totto said the measures will help his agency do its job better.
"This is an excellent step toward bringing ethics laws to the forefront," he said. The first step, he said, was when the Council approved an ordinance earlier this year requiring managers to receive ethics training.
City & County of Honolulu
