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Home My WebLink AboutBIL 021 Draft 02 2024-2026 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 2, ARTICLE 15, OF THE HAWAI‘I COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO NEPOTISM. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I: SECTION 1. Purpose. The purpose of this ordinance is to adopt a County-wide policy prohibiting nepotism to ensure that the hiring and promotion of a relative, as defined hereinbelow, are conducted fairly and impartially, in a manner consistent with the ethical standards set forth in Section 84-13.2, Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes. SECTION 2. Chapter 2, article 15, section 2-82, of the Hawaiʻi County Code 1983 (2016 Edition, as amended) is amended by repealing the definition of “immediate family” as follows: “[“Immediate family” means the employee’s or officer’s spouse, siblings, children, grandchildren, or parents.]” SECTION 3. Chapter 2, article 15, section 2-82, of the Hawaiʻi County Code 1983 (2016 Edition, as amended) is amended by adding a definition to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows: ““Immediate family member” means: (1) An employee’s or officer’s parent, grandparent, stepparent, child, grandchild, stepchild, foster child, adopted child, sibling, half-sibling, stepsibling, foster sibling, adopted sibling, parent’s sibling, first cousin, sibling’s child, spouse, spouse’s parent, child-in-law, or sibling-in-law, or any individual who has become an employee’s or officer’s child or sibling through informal adoptive practices; and (2) An individual who resides in the same dwelling unit as an employee or officer.” SECTION 4. Chapter 2, article 15, of the Hawai‘i County Code 1983 (2016 Edition, as amended) is amended by adding a section to read as follows: “Section 2- . Nepotism prohibited. (a) No employee or officer shall: (1) Appoint, hire, promote, or retain an immediate family member to, or demote, discharge, or terminate an immediate family member from a paid position in the employee or officer’s employing agency; or (2) Participate in an interview or discussion regarding the appointment, hiring, promotion, or retention of an immediate family member to, or the demotion, discharge, or termination of an immediate family member from a paid position in the employee or officer’s employing agency. This subsection shall not prohibit an employee or officer from performing ministerial acts that may impact an immediate family member if those acts are a part of the normal job functions of the employee or officer. (b) No employee or officer may supervise an immediate family member, unless the employee or officer: (1) Has a physical impairment requiring the employment of a particular immediate family member; provided that the employee or officer discloses the prospective employment to the board before the appointment or hire is made; or (2) Disqualifies oneself from taking any official action directly affecting the immediate family member. (c) No employee or officer shall award a contract to or otherwise take official action on a contract with a business if the employee or officer knows or reasonably should know that the employee or officer’s immediate family member is an executive officer of or holds a substantial financial interest in that business. (d) Notwithstanding the prohibitions in this section, if an employee or officer who is a supervisor or director is unable to waive or disengage from completing their official duties or from taking official action and is legally required to take action that directly impacts an immediate family member receiving an award or other official action on a contract described in subsection (c), the employee or officer will not be in violation of this section; provided that the employee or officer: (1) Has complied with the disclosure requirements of section 2-91.1; and (2) Posts a notice of intent to award the contract and files a copy of the notice with the board at least than five days before awarding the contract. If the posting and filing of the award in advance is otherwise prohibited by law, notice shall be posted and filed as soon as practicable. Every notice of intent shall describe the employee or officer’s relationship with the immediate family member, the immediate family member’s relationship with the entity receiving the contract, the action taken or to be taken affecting the immediate family member’s business, and the dollar value of the contract. (e) Upon application, the board may grant an exemption to an employee, officer, or agency that is unable to comply with this section for good cause, including a demonstrated lack of qualified personnel or applicants. (f) Any favorable action obtained by an immediate family member in violation of this section is voidable in the same manner as voidable contracts as provided for by section 2-85.1. (g) This section shall not affect the applicability of sections 2-83 and 2-84. (h) This section shall not prohibit an agency from appointing, hiring, promoting, retaining, demoting, discharging, or terminating an immediate family member of an employee or officer employed by the agency.” SECTION 5. Chapter 2, article 15, section 2-83, of the Hawai‘i County Code 1983 (2016 Edition, as amended) is amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows: “(c) An officer or employee of the County, or a business in which an officer or employee or the officer or employee’s immediate family member has a controlling interest, may contract for goods or services with any County agency provided that: (1) The nature of the relationship between the officer or employee and the County is provided in full disclosure to the agency seeking goods or services as part of the bid for a contract or response to a request for proposals; and (2) The officer or employee has obtained an opinion from the board that there is no conflict of interest resulting from the officer or employee’s position with the County. A board opinion shall continue to satisfy this requirement until a change occurs in the financial interest or role of the County officer, employee, or the officer or employee’s affected immediate family member[,] in the business or undertaking with which the contract is concerned. In the event an opinion by the board was not obtained in advance of submitting a bid, the officer or employee shall instead submit a copy of a letter or petition requesting review by the board. A contract shall be void if an officer or employee fails to comply with these disclosure requirements or if the board finds there is a conflict of interest or any preferential treatment involved.” SECTION 6. Chapter 2, article 15, section 2-84, of the Hawai‘i County Code 1983 (2016 Edition, as amended) is amended to read as follows: “Section 2-84. Conflicts of interests. (a) No officer or employee shall take any official action directly affecting[:] a business or other private undertaking in which the officer or employee: (1) [A business or other undertaking in which that officer or employee has] Has a substantial financial interest; (2) [A private undertaking in which the officer or employee is] Is engaged as a legal counsel, advisor, consultant, or representative, or other agency capacity; or (3) [A business or undertaking in which the employee knows] Knows or has reason to know that [a brother, a sister, a parent, an emancipated child, or a household] an immediate family member has a substantial financial interest[, provided that the financial interests of these individuals shall not include those of any spouse or child]. A department head who is unable to be disqualified on any matter described in items (1), (2), and (3) above will not be in violation of this subsection if the department head has complied with the disclosure requirements of section 2-91.1. A person whose position on a board, commission, or committee is mandated by statute, charter, code, or resolution to have particular qualifications shall only be prohibited from taking official action that directly and specifically affects a business or undertaking in which that person has a substantial financial interest; provided that the substantial financial interest is related to the member’s particular qualifications. (b) No officer or employee shall acquire financial interests in any business or other undertaking which that officer or employee has reason to believe may be directly involved in official action to be taken by the officer or employee. (c) No officer or employee shall represent private interests in any legal action or proceeding against the County or appear on behalf of private interests before any agency, except as otherwise provided by law; provided: (1) This prohibition shall not apply to a County employee or officer who is an architect, landscape architect, surveyor, or engineer registered as such under the provisions of chapter 464, Hawai‘i Revised Statutes, with respect to the affixing by such registered professional of such person’s registered stamp to any plans, specifications, drawings, etc., to be submitted to the County for permits for such person’s principal residence or that of [members of] such person’s immediate family[;] member; provided, that the stamp is accompanied by a signed statement that the work was prepared by the person stamping the document or under such person’s supervision; and provided further, that the registered professional may not, in the capacity of a County employee or officer, review, approve or otherwise act upon the plans, specifications, drawings, etc., such person has stamped; and (2) No officer or employee shall be denied the right to appear before any agency to petition for redress of grievances caused by any official act or action affecting such person’s personal rights, privileges, or property, including real property. (d) Notwithstanding any provision of this article to the contrary, a member of any board, commission, or committee may appear on behalf of private interests before agencies other than the board, commission, or committee on which such person serves.” SECTION 7. Chapter 2, article 15, section 2-85, of the Hawai‘i County Code 1983 (2016 Edition, as amended) is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows: “(a) A County agency may enter into a contract involving services or property or to procure or dispose of goods or services, or for construction, with an officer, an employee, or a business in which an officer or an employee or the officer or employee’s immediate family member has a controlling interest, provided the provisions in section 2-83, subsection (c) have been met, and further provided: (1) The contract is awarded by competitive sealed bidding pursuant to the state public procurement code; or (2) The contract is awarded by competitive sealed proposal pursuant to the state public procurement code. Upon award of any such contract, the director of finance shall post notice of the award, which notice shall include the information provided pursuant to section 2-83, subsection (c).” SECTION 8. Material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New material is underscored. In printing this ordinance, the brackets, bracketed and stricken material, and underscoring need not be included. SECTION 9. Severability. If any provision of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this ordinance are severable. SECTION 10. This ordinance shall take effect upon its approval. INTRODUCED BY: _______________________________________ COUNCIL MEMBER, COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I _______________, Hawai‘i Date of Introduction: Date of 1st Reading: Date of 2nd Reading: Effective Date: