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HomeMy WebLinkAboutREP GOEAC 034 2025-04-01 2024-2026REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS AND EXTERNAL AFFAIRS DATE: April 1, 2025 PLACE: Council Chambers Hilo, Hawaii TIME: 9:01 a.m. Council Chair and Members Hawaii County Council Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Re: Comm. No. 91/Bill No. 21 Your Committee on Governmental Operations and External Affairs, to which was referred Bill No. 21, reports as follows: Bill No. 21, introduced by Council Member Heather Kimball via Communication No. 91, dated January 2, 2025, amends Chapter 2, Article 15, of the Hawaii County Code 1983 (2016 Edition, as amended), relating to nepotism. Bill No. 21 adds provisions and definitions consistent with standards set forth in Section 84-13.2 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, which are intended to provide for fair and impartial hiring, personnel, and contracting practices within the workplace. This bill was previously heard and postponed on January 21 and February 4, 2025. Governmental Operations and External Affairs Meeting of January 21, 2025 Committee Member Heather Kimball began by sharing that the Hawaii Revised Statutes were updated with regards to nepotism, and this bill is bringing our County Code in compliance with that. Director of Human Resources Sommer Tokihiro was present in Hilo Chambers to explain that this bill was drafted based on the recommendation of the County Auditor. The County Auditor approached Human Resources in 2024 due to a whistleblower complaint regarding perceived unfair hiring practices and nepotism. The recommendation to address this was to adopt into County Code similar language that the State passed in 2023 to expand the definition of immediate family members. Member Kimball mentioned that there was one note regarding the language that mentions "third degree of consanguinity," which is one degree beyond what the State law requires and includes second cousins. She also mentioned that if this bill were to pass, this legislation would not be retroactive. Committee Member Ashley Kierkiewicz asked some hypothetical questions to determine clarity on how this code would be implemented going forward. Deputy Director Danny Patel answered that while these code changes will not be retroactive, the changes will be applied going forward. This would prohibit immediate family members from supervising their family members. Member Kierkiewicz wanted to make sure that it was clear to avoid the appearance of selective enforcement. She asked additional questions regarding contracts and nepotism. Deputy GOEAC Report No. 34 GOEAC-34 Page 2 April 1, 2025 Director Patel said that there are separate sections of the code that address conflicts of interest and contracts. He further recommended that the drafted language should be submitted to the Board of Ethics for their input at some point, as they are one of the bodies that are tasked with interpreting the code regarding conflicts of interest. Deputy Director Patel also stated that some of the questions related to procurement and that Finance may need to be consulted. Member Kimball mentioned that regarding it being retroactive, this is already State law, except for the expansion of the additional degree of familial relationship. Committee Member James Hustace asked why this legislation is increasing beyond the State's second degree of consanguinity. Committee Member Dennis "Fresh" Onishi mentioned that in talking with Corporation Counsel, he believed that a first cousin and second cousin can potentially be as close to their family members, and neither should be directly supervised by an immediate family member. Member Hustace said he agrees with the intent but is concerned about hindering hiring practices due to the low employment rate across the County by including the third degree of relationship. Committee Member Holeka Inaba agreed with Member Hustace on that point regarding recruitment and said that he preferred the language in Hawaii Revised Statutes. Member Onishi clarified that this legislation will not prohibit family members from being hired; it is to discourage immediate family members from directly managing, supervising, or promoting their direct family members. Member Inaba asked if the familial relationship language regarding Section 3(1)(B) was referring to the first cousin or second cousin. Member Kimball said it was supposed to be referring to the second cousin, and she would work on an amendment to provide clarity. Member Inaba said to make certain the language is clear that the bill should be sent to the Board of Ethics for their review before moving it forward. Member Kimball made a motion that the bill be sent to the Board of Ethics for review. Member Inaba seconded the motion. Assistant Corporation Counsel J Yoshimoto said that the next meeting of the Board of Ethics would be the second Wednesday of the month. There was some additional discussion of timeline and procedural considerations. Assistant Corporation Counsel Yoshimoto said the Board of Ethics should be able to get this bill on their agenda for discussion at their February 13th meeting. He also recommended that if Committee Members had further changes, that they should make those edits before referring the bill to the Board of Ethics. Member Kimball withdrew the motion to refer the bill so that discussion could continue. Member Kimball mentioned that, as suggested by Member Inaba, she would be including the definition of immediate family from the Hawaii Revised Statutes in the packet they would be sending to the Board of Ethics for their consideration. Committee Chair Jenn Kagiwada asked that Deputy Corporation Counsel Keyra Wong and someone from purchasing be available for questions at the next discussion. Clerk Jon Henricks added that nothing would stop the bill from continuing to be worked on in Committee or be advanced to Council while simultaneously being referred to the Board of Ethics. GOEAC Report No. 34 GOEAC-34 Page 3 April 1, 2025 Member Kimball made a motion that Bill 21 be referred to the Board of Ethics with 60 days to provide the Council with a response. Member Inaba seconded the motion. The motion passed with no further discussion. Member Kimball then moved to postpone the bill to the February 4th Governmental Operations and External Affairs meeting. All voted in favor of the motion with Committee Member Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder absent. Governmental Operations and External Affairs Meeting of February 4, 2025 Member Kimball said that while the Board of Ethics did get a chance to discuss this bill, they needed additional time to gather more information. Therefore, she moved to postpone this bill to the call of the Chair to provide flexibility. All were in favor of the motion with Committee Member Rebecca Villegas absent. Governmental Operations and External Affairs Meeting of April 1, 2025 Member Kimball introduced an amendment based on recommendations of the Board of Ethics to utilize the Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) definition for relative as the definition for immediate family, and to remove the reference to hanai family members and utilize informal adoption practices instead. She added that the HRS definition of relative does not include second cousins as Member Onishi had requested. The amendment was unanimously approved. Member Onishi stated that because there is no policy on nepotism for the County, Council could choose to make their policy more restrictive rather than less restrictive than HRS. Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder asked what the drive was for this bill. County Auditor Tyler Benner recapped the context and purpose for this bill. He explained the history of an audit their office completed in 2017 regarding hiring practices, as well as specific complaints that led to his office investigating and ultimately recommending that Council adopt a set of guidelines similar to the State's regarding defining nepotism and mitigating conflicts of interest. Your Committee on Governmental Operations and External Affairs is in accord with the purpose and intent of Bill No. 21, as amended to Draft 2, and recommends its passage on first reading. sim AYES NOES ABS EX GALIMBA X HUSTACE X INABA X KAGIWADA X KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER X KIERKIEWICZ X KIMBALL X ONISHI X VILLEGAS X Respectfully submitted, COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL QCTERNAL AFFAIRS JUAN t� KAGI-;T`ADA, CHAIR REPORTGOEAC NO.: ADOPTED: •