Ethics Board clears Kanuha, sets sights on Tobacco-Free Coalition

The Hawaii County Board of Ethics plans to investigate lobbying activity by the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaii, even as it cleared County Council Chairman Dru Kanuha on Wednesday of any wrongdoing.

At issue are two bills Kanuha sponsored that the coalition strongly advocated. One raised the age to purchase cigarettes, tobacco products and e-cigarettes, even those containing no nicotine, from 18 to 21. The other bans e-cigarettes anywhere conventional tobacco cigarettes are banned.

Mariner Revell, owner of Irie Hawaii Smoke Shops, charged in his complaint that Kanuha violated the “fair treatment” provisions of the county ethics code. In addition, he said, the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaii violated county lobbyist registration provisions when it didn’t register with the Clerk’s Office until long after members testified.

“Whether you’re for or against e-cigarettes, the fact is, I’ve been treated wrongly,” Revell told the board. “I felt that I was ignored and I wasn’t treated fairly. … The very least they can do is listen to our concerns.”

Revell said he had questions about how the new law would affect his business, but Kanuha never returned his calls.

The Ethics Board, however, noted that constituents do have a way of addressing council members about pending legislation, and also have the option of not reelecting them.

“It may not be a credit to the councilman, but I don’t think it’s against the law,” said board member Douglass Adams.

Kanuha publicly apologized to Revell during the meeting, and after the meeting, shook his hand and promised to meet with him.

Whether the coalition violated county lobbying laws is no reflection on Kanuha, the board added. But members do plan to investigate whether the coalition acted appropriately and get the coalition’s response at the next meeting.

“Mr. Kanuha does not have a responsibility to determine if someone is a registered or unregistered lobbyist,” said board Chairman Bernard Balsis.

One of the bills passed the council Nov. 20, 2013, after being introduced Oct. 15 of that year. The other was introduced Oct. 14 of last year and passed Dec. 17. Coalition members appeared numerous times to testify in favor of the bills.

Hawaii County code requires lobbyists to register within five days of becoming a lobbyist, defined as any individual engaged for pay or other consideration who spends more than five hours in any month or $275 in any six-month period for the purpose of “attempting to influence legislative or administrative action by communicating or urging others to communicate with public officials.”

Three members of the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaii didn’t register as lobbyists until Dec. 3, Dec. 10 and Dec. 11 of last year.

One of those was coalition Executive Director Jessica Yamauchi. She told West Hawaii Today on Wednesday that the coalition would wait until it received formal notification from the Ethics Board before commenting on the case.

But she added that the coalition does a lot of community outreach and education work, and serves as a resource for elected officials seeking information on health-related topics.

“We’re really more of an educational and advocacy group than a lobbying group,” Yamauchi said. “Our nonprofit organization has a long standing history of promoting the health and well-being of the people of Hawaii using grassroots initiatives and educational forums.”