2006-01-11 Board of Ethics Minutes Regular Nonverbatim

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disclosing. He noted that the Board had requested that Ms. O'Toole draft an ordinance to amend the financial disclosure form so that it required information on the financial interests of spouse and children. Mr. Ashida said he is okay with elected and appointed officials having to provide the additional information, but he has reservations as to whether volunteer citizens should have to disclose even more information than they already do. He said the form as it is currently already asks an applicant if there is any potential conflict of interest, and he feels that is a sufficient background check. The Chair questioned whether the Code could be changed so as to particularize the financial interest disclosure for elected officials and appointees. Mr. Joseph questioned how the State government handles this issue, as he wants the County to be in line with the State. Ms. O'Toole said she will research how the State handles it. Mr. Joseph moved to defer this issue for further research by Ms. O'Toole; Mr. Inouye seconded the motion; and all members voted aye on the deferral. d. Discussion on proposed amendment to the Code regarding the registration of lobbyists: Ms. Lum said she tried to figure out why attorneys are exempted from registering. She wanted to know if there was anything positive in exempting them. Ms. O'Toole said she could only guess at the reason and said the Board might want to get feedback from the bar association on the issue. The Chair asked if the Board wanted to pursue this. Mr. Inouye said the Board should move forward as is, and Mr. Joseph agreed. Mr. Inouye moved to accept the proposed ordinance and to move forward in changing the lobbying section of the Code. Ms. Lum seconded the motion, and all members voted aye. Ms. O'Toole was requested to follow up on having the proposed ordinance presented. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Petition No. 2005 -05: Review draft of Informal Advisory Opinion on Mr. Frankel's petition regarding Mr. Arakaki's receipt of gifts to his legal defense fund: Chair Williams recused himself, and Vice Chair Kawahara assumed the role of Chair. He asked if the Board had any comments on the proposed draft. Mr. Joseph questioned the conclusion section, concerned that if the monies have been turned into political campaign contributions, there may now be a violation of the legal amount to contribute. The members discussed changing the wording of the conclusion and decided to cross out the words "complying with" and replacing them with "as defined under." Ms. Lum moved to so amend the conclusion, Mr. Inouye seconded the motion, and all members voted aye on the amendment, with recused Chair Williams abstaining. 3