BIL 021 Draft 01 2024-2026 - Laserfiche WebLink

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SECTION 4. Chapter 2, article 15, of the Hawaii County Code 1983 (2016 Edition, as amended) is amended by adding a section to read as follows: "Section 2- Nepotism prohibited. (a) No employee or officer shall: (1) Appoint, hire, promote, or retain an immediate family member to, or demote discharge, or terminate an immediate family member from a paid position in the employee or officer's employing agency; or (2) Participate in an interview or discussion regarding the he appointment, hiring, promotion, or retention of an immediate family member to, or the demotion, discharge, or termination of an immediate family member from a paid position in the employee or officer's employing agency. This subsection shall not prohibit an employee or officer from performing ministerial acts that may impact an immediate family member if those acts are a part of the normal job functions of the employee or officer. (b) No employee or officer may supervise an immediate family member, unless the employee or officer: (1) Has a physical impairment requiringthe he employment of a particular immediate family member; provided that the employee or officer discloses the prospective employment to the board before the appointment or hire is made, or (2) Disqualifies oneself from taking any official action directly affecting the immediate family member. (c) No employee or officer shall award a contract to or otherwise take official action on a contract with a business if the employee or officer knows or reasonably should know that the employee or officer's immediate family member is an executive officer of or holds a substantial financial interest in that business. (d) Notwithstanding the prohibitions in this section, if an employee or officer who is a supervisor or director is unable to waive or disengage from completing their official duties or from taking official action and is legally required to take action that directly impacts an immediate family member receiving an award or other official action on a contract described in subsection (c), the employee or officer will not be in violation of this section; provided that the employee or officer: (1) Has complied with the disclosure requirements of section 2-91.1; and (2) Posts a notice of intent to award the contract and files a copy of the notice with the board at least than five days before awarding the contract. If the posting and filing of the award in advance is otherwise prohibited by law, notice shall be posted and filed as soon as practicable. Every notice of intent shall describe the employee or officer's relationship with the immediate family member, the immediate family member's relationship with the entity receiving the contract, the action taken or to be taken affecting the immediate family member's business, and the dollar value of the contract. (e) Upon application, the board mqy grant an exemption to an employee, officer, or agency that is unable to comply with this section for good cause, including a demonstrated lack of qualified personnel or applicants.