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Honorable J Yoshimoto Chair, Hawai`i County Council April 7, 2010 Page 2 County if the contract is with a different County department than that in which the officer or employee currently works. In such a situation, the appearance of impropriety is minimized. Another way to address any real or perceived conflict is to adopt a contract procedure that the State of Hawai`i uses which requires the contracting party to certify that there is no conflict of interest as set out in the State Ethics Code. For example, when persons or entities enter into a contract with the State, they must certify that: • they are not a legislator or an employee or a business in which a legislator or an employee has a controlling interest (Section 84- 15(a), HRS); • they were not represented or assisted personally in the matter by an officer or employee who was an employee of the agency awarding the contract within the preceding two years (Section 84- 15(b), FIRS); • they were not assisted or represented by a legislator or employee for a fee to obtain the contract, and will not be assisted or represented by a legislator or employee for a fee in performance of the contract (Section 84- 14(d), HRS); and • they were not represented on matters related to the contract for a fee or other compensation by an individual who, within the last 12 months, was an employee and participated in matters related to the contract (Section 84 -18(b) and (c), HRS. Should you proceed with your proposed language prohibiting all contracting by and between a County officer and employee and any County agency, may we suggest that such a provision be placed in the "Contracts" provision of the Hawai`i County Code, rather than the "Fair Treatment" Section and that the attached language amending the "Contracts" provision (section 2 -85) be considered as it addresses some of the concerns raised above, and others discussed during the Board's public meetings. 3. Article 15, section 2 -84 Conflicts of Interest This proposal adopts language prohibiting any officer or employee from appearing on behalf of private interests before any County agency except as otherwise provided by law, and included some narrow exceptions to this prohibition. The Board believes that this proposal may be too restrictive in a small community such as ours. The Board was concerned that the language could be construed to prohibit an officer or employee from appearing before other County agencies on purely personal matters, unrelated to their job duties. For example, one board member worried that this may be construed to prohibit her from appearing before the County Council to object to a development that could affect her neighborhood. Hawaii County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer