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gift, subscription, loan, advance, or deposit of money or anything of value, and includes a contract, promise, or agreement, whether or not legally enforceable, to make a contribution. H.R.S. §76-92 establishes other rules for civil service employees (and others) : it illegal for any candidate, public officer, or employee to "solicit or assess" political contributions from civil servants; it is illegal for any person to solicit political contributions from civil service employees in public buildings; it is illegal to allow political contributions or activities to influence personnel decisions; and it is illegal for one public officer or employee to give anything to another to be applied to any political purpose. You will recall from my earlier letter on State-County relations that in civil service matters State law will prevail over contradictory provisions in a County charter. HGEA v. County of Maui, 59 Haw. 65, 576 P. 2d 1029 (1978) . H.R.S. §76-91 and §76-92 apply to civil service employees of Hawaii County, and police officers are civil service employees. Therefore, the County Charter cannot impose restrictions on the political activities of police officers that contradict the rights given in H.R.S. §76-91. An argument can be made that the County may not impose any political limits beyond those contained in H.R.S. §76-91 and §76- 92. There is a legal doctrine called "pre-emption" : when the State legislature has enacted a law that is intended to completely regulate the particular subject area, the County cannot enact further laws, even if they do not directly contradict State law. I would not regard the political activities of civil service employees as a pre-empted issue because the State constitution gives the counties the power to enact a code of ethics for its employees, and the regulation of political activities is closely related to ethics in 'government. (Haw. State Const. art. xiv. ) H.R.S. §76-91 covers most political actions. I would interpret the right to belong to a political organization to include taking an active role in a political campaign and to hold an office in a political party or subcommittee. The major political activity not mentioned in H.R.S. §76-91 is candidacy for public office (or holding public office) , and the County could prohibit this. The County may also forbid any political activity by police officers while in uniform. This is consistent with the prohibition in H.R.S. §76-91 against the use of official position or authority for political purposes: any time a police officer acts while in uniform, there exists the strong appearance that he or she is invoking the authority of that uniform. Political activities during work hours may also be prohibited: 697 -3-