Council committee postpones ethics bill

An omnibus ethics bill sponsored by Kohala Councilwoman Margaret Wille proved too much to digest Tuesday for County Council members.

The council Finance Committee postponed Bill 37, expanding the definition of family members for ethics purposes, changing how county contracts can be awarded to employees and how county facilities and employees’ time can be used for union-endorsed campaigning.

Wille’s bill encompasses some measures that Mayor Billy Kenoi had twice unsuccessfully tried to get the council to pass. Kenoi had tried to ban county employees from also holding county contracts. Wille’s bill would require council approval in such circumstances.

Wille’s bill also tackles an issue the county Ethics Board dismissed. That one, responding to a resident’s complaint following a 2012 West Hawaii Today report, questioned whether public worker unions could require county employees to attend campaign events on county time at county facilities where the union’s slate of candidates presented their views.

The Ethics Board found that the so-called “educational” sessions are part of some unions’ state-negotiated contracts, and the county had no jurisdiction, despite county laws banning county employees from using county time, equipment or facilities for campaign purposes.

Wille, who was the odd woman out when this happened in the 2012 election, would require in her bill that the unions provide equal time to opposing candidates in those circumstances.

“It’s OK for the unions to trump the language of the code,” Wille characterized the Ethics Board vote. “I did not particularly like that.”

A move by Puna Councilman Greggor Ilagan to send the bill to the Ethics Board for commenting was rebuffed by fellow council members. Several said they needed time to get legal clarification from corporation counsel before voting.

“It’s always healthy to hear more discussion,” Ilagan said. “What’s the rush in pushing this through?”