COM 0446.002 2010-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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November 15, 2011 Page 2 will provide the public the assurance that the decision makers of the County are not under the influence of any illicit substances. The Compelling Interest Standard. 1. Extremely high use of illegal drugs in the County of Hawaii. The County of Hawaii has the dubious distinction of having the highest methamphetamine use in the United States. The State of Hawaii is listed by the U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, as an High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) and therefore, is a port of entry for importation of illegal drugs. In Resolution 127 -11 (see attached Exhibit A) and Ordinance 11 -93 (see attached Exhibit B), both of which passed on September 21, 2011, the County accepted $51,607 in a grant to combat this problem. It is imperative that the mayor, the prosecuting attorney, and the county council be free of the illicit use of proscribed drugs to effectively function as elected officials. 2. Legislation may be negatively impacted by potential blackmail. Since the county council passes assorted pieces of legislation each year valued in the hundreds of millions of taxpayers dollars, its members must be free of the negative influences of illegal drugs in their decisions regarding public funds. Although there is no known use of illegal drugs by current elected officials, the use of illegal drugs may place the mayor, the prosecuting attorneys and council members in a position to be blackmailed into voting for or against a piece of legislation that could be detrimental to the public; the mayor may be pressured by blackmail into a veto of legislation vital to the public interest but detrimental to special interests; and the prosecuting attorney may or may not choose to prosecute a case if blackmailed. Additionally, the mayor and the prosecuting attorney (Executive Branch), and the council chairperson (Legislative Branch) may sign contracts that may not be scrutinized by the other branch of government. Such awarded contracts should not be subject to inappropriate circumstances. 3. Extreme weather conditions and public safety interests. The County of Hawaii is subject to earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tropical storms, tornadoes, flooding, landslides, mudslides, and rockslides, dams bursting, and lava flows. Council members and the mayor are subject to call for emergency meetings on very short notice if any of these events occur. The county council not only needs to advocate for public safety, it needs to protect the public from itself by not driving under the influence of an intoxicant. Since council members travel across the island and within their respective districts and in sometimes perilous driving conditions, it is imperative that the safety of the public not be jeopardized by any elected official driving under the influence of an intoxicant. The mayor, prosecuting attorney, and sometimes council members use County vehicles to travel.