2005-10-12 Board of Ethics Minutes Regular mc

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permit is, under the broad definition, potentially covered. It may be appropriate to cause an exemption for that. I don't know how many people are involved. But the law is as it is, and that's what you have to go by. CHAIR: Bobby? BLT: Mr. Chairman, I'd like to point out that there is already an exemption in the law for ministerial matters that require administrative action. There is case law before the Hawaii Supreme Court that defines processing things like building permits as ministerial in nature. So it would not be as broad an application as Mr. Fuke indicates. However, there is the potential, and I think that perhaps you may want to ask us to research and write an opinion on this— CHAIR: Essentially we do BLT: But when it's —the question is if you have someone like Mr. Fuke who's processing an application. In his capacity of processing that application, he then hires a botanist to do a flora and fauna analysis. He hires an archeologist to do an archeological study. He hires or works with whoever the engineer is working on a particular project. And he may show up at the Council and at the Council meeting, although he is the agent and representing the client, he may in fact have the engineer there to answer engineering questions. He may have the botanist there. And I think because there are actions before Planning Commission, where some of these issues were , and so you may have all of these other people that are there not so much to urge the passage, adoption, or amendment of a particular measure, but they're there because of their expertise. They were hired and they're there to answer questions about their reports that they have filed. And so the question would be is, whether the law is so broad that all of those other people that are then hired by someone like Mr. Fuke, who's the point guard, so to speak, are covered under that law. And I don't have a definite answer on that. I did not look at that particular issue. I did take a look at the issue of the building permits before today's hearing. FUKE: I think the major if you look at the definition of the lobbyist , it says that for one thing, you have to get paid for consideration no more than in excess of $275 in a six -month period. Now it says, like, for the purpose of attempting to influence legislative or administrative action by communicating or urging others to communicate with public officials. And I think that, as I mentioned earlier— because absent any guidelines from the County level, if you look at the State level, you know—at the State level you don't have any applications, unlike at the County level, you do have applications. And applications by law have to be either process administratively, or applications that must be required by law, legislative action. And so I think the distinction is that you know, people like myself or Greg Mooers ( ?) or , you prepare and you process. Sometimes you have, on the other hand, you have individuals or corporations that are hired not to prepare and process but just are there to influence. They're just there to influence. And so, if they're walking the halls of the legislature or at the council, and you know, they're just walking around. You 12