HomeMy WebLinkAboutComm. 004 - 2021-03-01 Office of the Corporation Counsel: ethics training1Overview of EthicsOverview of Ethics for County Officers
and Employees
March 1, 2021
J Yoshimoto, Esq.
Deputy Corporation Counsel
Office of the Corporation Counsel
County of Hawai`i
Purpose of Training/Desired
Outcomes
To provide County officers and employees
a general overview of the County Code of Ethics.
To highlight important provisions of the County Code of Ethics that County officers and employee should be aware of.
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
COMM. 4
2
Purpose of Government Ethics Laws
Promote both the reality and the perception of integrity in
government;
HCC 2-79 Purpose
1. Prescribe standards of conduct for the guidance of County
officers and employees;
2. Prohibit certain conduct involving County officers and
employees;
3. Set forth the procedure for the interpretation of ethics
problems of County officers and employees.
HCC Section 2-80. Interpretation of article
This article shall be liberally construed to promote high standards of ethical
conduct in County government.
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
Hawai`i County Charter
Directs council to adopt by ordinance a code
of ethics;
Standards are minimum standards; directs that more stringent provisions may be enacted;
Applies to all elected and appointed County
officers and employees
All officers and employees presumed to know
the requirements of the Charter
Establishes the Board of Ethics
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
3
Hawai`i County Code of
Ethics
Ordinance created by the Council
Applies to all elected and appointed County officers and
employees
All employees presumed to know the requirements of
the Code
Code interpreted by the Board of Ethics
Any person may file a petition
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
Our Board of Ethics
5 members –
Chair vacant
Vice-Chair David Wiseman, term expires on 12/31/21
Lawrence Heintz, term expires on 12/31/23
Denise Nakanishi, term expires on 12/31/24
Amy Self, term expires on 12/31/25
Kelly Valenzuela, term expires on 12/31/25
5 year term, appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by
the Hawai’i County Council
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
4
The Ethics Code
Main Areas
Fair Treatment
Conflict of Interest
Contracts
Financial Disclosure
Lobbyist
Gifts
Confidentiality
Post employment
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
Fair Treatment Provision of the
Hawai`i County CodeHCC Section 2-83
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
5
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Fair treatment provision”
Section 2-83(a)
“(1) All public property and equipment are
to be treated as a public trust and are not
to be used in a proprietary manner or for
personal purposes without proper
consent.”
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Fair treatment provision”
“Public property” includes your time while being compensated by the County
“Personal purposes” includes non-County business purposes
“Proper consent” may be granted by the Board of Ethics or the department/agency head, subject to non-arbitrary criteria
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
6
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Fair treatment provision”
Q. My daughter is participating
in a school activity that requires
her to fundraise by selling
sweetbread. May I email my
friends and co-workers about this
fundraiser using my county
computer?
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Fair treatment provision”
Section 2-83(a)
“(2) No person in a supervisory
capacity shall engage in personal or
business relationships with
subordinates, which might
intimidate said subordinates in the
discharge of their official duties.”
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
7
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Fair treatment provision”
Note that it covers both personal
and business relationships
For business relationships, there
is no need for the private
business to have any nexus to the
nature of the County employment
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Fair treatment provision”
Section 2-83(a)
“(3) All persons shall be treated
in a courteous, fair and
impartial manner.”
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
8
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Fair treatment provision”
Section 2-83(b)
“No officer or employee shall use or attempt to use the officer’s or employee’s official position to secure or grant unwarranted privileges, exemptions, advantages, contracts, or treatment, for oneself or others; including but not limited to the following:
(1) Seeking other employment or contract for services for oneself by the use or attempted use of the officer’s or employee’s office or position.”
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Fair treatment provision”
Section 2-83(b)
“(2) Accepting, receiving, or
soliciting compensation or other
consideration for the performance
of the officer’s or employee’s
official duties or responsibilities
except as provided by law.”
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
9
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Fair treatment provision”
Section 2-83(b)
“(3) Soliciting, selling, or otherwise
engaging in a substantial financial
transaction with a subordinate or a
person or business whom the officer
or employee inspects or supervises in
the officer’s or employee’s official
capacity.”
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Fair treatment provision”
Section 2-83(b)
“(4) Using County property, facilities,
equipment, time, or personnel for private
business, campaign purposes, or for any
purpose other than for a public purpose.”
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
10
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Fair treatment provision”
Note that this entire section requires a showing of “use or (an) attempt to use the officer’s or employee’s official position”
Note that some positions are so prominent, there can be no meaningful differentiation between the person and position (Mayor, Council Member, e.g.)
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Fair treatment provision”
Q. When I check into a hotel
while on vacation, the front desk
clerk notices I work for the
County, and gives me a free
upgrade to a bigger room. Does
accepting this violate the Code
of Ethics?
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
11
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Fair treatment provision”
Q. I am volunteering to help in a
campaign for a County officer for
reelection. We are going to use
the office kitchen to stuff
envelopes with other volunteers,
after hours. Is this alright?
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Fair treatment provision”
Q. I have agreed to help a County officer out at her upcoming fundraiser. A colleague of mine who is also helping asks that we go out into the parking lot so he can give me some tickets to distribute. Does this violate the Code of Ethics?
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
12
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Fair treatment provision”
Q. You are pulled over by the
Police for speeding. When you
produce your license, the officer
asks, “Do you work for the
County?” and you respond, “Yes.”
He then lets you off with a
warning. Is this a Code of Ethics
violation?
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Fair treatment provision”
Q. A member of the public brings
you a candy basket, and thanks
you for the good service you
provided him yesterday. Does
accepting this gift violate the
Code?
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
13
Conflict of Interest ProvisionHCC Section 2-84
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Conflict of Interest provision”
Section 2-84(a)
“No officer or employee shall take any
official action directly affecting:
(1) A business or other undertaking in
which that officer or employee has a
substantial financial interest”
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
14
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Conflict of Interest provision”
Section 2-84(a)
“(2) A private undertaking in which the
officer or employee is engaged as
legal counsel, advisor, consultant, or
representative, or other agency
capacity”
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Conflict of Interest provision”
Section 2-84(a)
“(3) A business or undertaking in which the employee knows or has reason to know that a brother, a sister, a parent, an emancipated child, or a household member has a substantial financial interest, provided that the financial interests of these individuals shall not include those of any spouse or child.”
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
15
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Conflict of Interest provision”
Q. I am a County employee in the building department and co-owner of a construction company that does side jobs on the weekends. My company was hired to remodel a residential property and a building permit is needed. Since I work in the building department, I ask my business partner to get the permit. The permit comes across my desk for review. May I approve the permit?
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Conflict of Interest provision”
Q.A company submits their building
plans to my department for a
building permit. My father is
part owner of that company.
May I review the plans and
approve them?
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
16
HCC Section 2-91.4 and 2-91.5
Gifts provisions
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
Gifts & tokens of Aloha
In a July 2008 article, then State Ethics Commission executive
director and general counsel said:
“Gifts are the hardest issue to deal with in the ethics area,” The law currently
has no “bright line” test, or way to definitively decide what constitutes as a
gift.
“Many gifts that go beyond what might be called tokens of aloha may raise
issues, but you don’t know if there’s an actual problem until you go out and
ask questions,” Mollway says. “What was the occasion? What was the gift? Who
was the source? What was the purpose? An agency like ours would have to
spend an awful lot of time and thousands of dollars asking these questions, and
even then people will debate whether our conclusions are correct.”
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
17
3 relevant HCC provisions
regarding gifts
HCC 2-91.4 Gifts law
HCC 2-83(b) Fair treatment
provision
HCC 2-91.5 Gifts disclosure
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Gift provision”
Section 2-91.4. Gifts.
No officer or employee shall solicit, accept, or receive, directly or indirectly, any gift, whether in the form of money, service, loan, travel, entertainment, hospitality, thing, or promise or in any other form, under circumstances in which it can reasonably be inferred that the gift is intended to influence the officer or employee in the performance of the officer’s or employee’s official duties or is intended as a reward for any official action on the officer’s or employee’s part.
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
18
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Gift provision”
Section 2-91.5. Reporting of gifts. (a) Every officer and employee shall file a gifts disclosure statement with the County board of ethics on June 30 of each year if all the
following conditions are met:
(1) The officer or employee, or spouse or dependent child of an officer or employee, received directly or indirectly from one source any gift or gifts valued singly or in the aggregate in excess of $100, whether the gift is in the form
of money, service, goods, or in any other form;
(2) The source of the gift or gifts have interests that may be affected by official action or lack of action by the officer or employee; and
(3) The gift is not exempted by subsection (d) from reporting requirements under this subsection.
Overview of Ethics
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Gift provision”
(d) Excluded from the reporting requirements of this
section are the following:
(1) Gifts received by will or intestate succession;
(2) Gifts received by way of distribution of any inter vivos
or testamentary trust established by a spouse or ancestor;
(3) Gifts from a spouse, fiancé, fiancée, any relative within
four degrees of consanguinity or the spouse, fiancé, or
fiancée of such a relative. A gift from any such person is a
reportable gift if the person is acting as an agent or
intermediary for any person not covered by this paragraph;
(4) Political campaign contributions that comply with state
law;
Overview of Ethics
19
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Gift provision”
(5) Anything available to or distributed to the public generally without regard to the official status of the
recipient;
(6) Gifts that, within thirty days after receipt, are returned to the giver or delivered to a public body or to
a bona fide educational or charitable organization without the donation being claimed as a charitable contribution for tax purposes; and
(7) Exchanges of approximately equal value on holidays,
birthday, or special occasions.
(e) Failure of an officer or employee to file a gifts disclosure statement as required by this section shall be
a violation of this article.
Overview of Ethics
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Gift Disclosure ”
Section 2-91.5
Every officer and employee shall
report gifts if conditions are met
in 2-91.5(a).
The exceptions to the reporting
requirement are contained in 2-
91.5(d).
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
20
State Ethics - Gifts of Aloha
Gifts of Aloha and other nominal gifts may be accepted.
Gifts of Aloha are modest gifts of nominal value, which
are traditionally given as part of our local culture as a gesture of aloha or goodwill. These include, but are not limited to: flowers or a flower lei, a box of candy,
cookies, manapua or malasadas to share with the office. Other tangible gifts of nominal value that may be accepted include a calendar, coffee mug, or small promotional business items.
Examples of prohibited gifts include, but are not limited to: cash, gift cards, computer or electronic equipment, jewelry, sports equipment, and gifts of personal benefit
that are not of nominal or minimal value.
Overview of Ethics
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
Gifts
Q. A member of the public calls the Department of Public Works to report a bridge needing repair near her home. The employee follows thru with the request and has the bridge repaired. In appreciation, a 50.00 gift card is given to the DPW employee. May the employee accept the gift card?
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
21
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
Gifts
Q. An employee who works at a counter helping the public went out on maternity leave. A member of the public who was previously helped by this employee wanted to give the employee a gift in celebration of the recent birth of her child. Since the employee was out on leave, a co-worker delivered the gift to the employee. Is it appropriate to accept the gift?
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
Gifts
Q. The fire department has been battling a
fire in Waikoloa for 4 days. The community
gets together and decides to prepare and
serve the fire fighters meals and drinks for
all of their hard work. Is it appropriate to
accept the meals and drinks?
Overview of Ethics
22
Confidentiality provision
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Confidentiality provision”
Section 2-91.6
“No officer or employee shall disclose information which by law or practice is not available to the public and which the officer or employee acquires in the course of the officer’s or employee’s official duties, or use the information for the officer’s or employee’s personal gain or for the benefit of anyone.”
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
23
Hawai`i County Code of Ethics
(Chapter 2, Article 15, HCC)
“Confidentiality provision”
Note this provision covers bothconfidentialand privilegedinformation.
Note that a violation of this provision may result in (1) disciplinary action, (2) removal of elected officials, (3) civil action against the offending County officer or employee, and/or (4) criminal prosecution.
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
“Confidential” and
“Privileged” Information
“Confidential” information is
protected as private by law.
“Privileged” information is
protected as private by the
relationship of the attorney
and client.
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
24
“Confidential” and
“Privileged” Information
Confidential Information
Examples of “confidential” information are medical information protected by the medical privacy act, and criminal records protected by federal and state statute.
We are required by law to protect this information as private, and cannot “waive” the privacy right. Only the subject of the information, under limited circumstances, may waive this privacy.
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
“Confidential” and
“Privileged” Information
Privileged information
“Privileged” information may not necessarily be “confidential” information, but nonetheless is information intended to remain private.
“Privileged” information is usually held private since its disclosure would adversely affect the functions and decision-making processes of the client.
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
25
“Confidential” and
“Privileged” Information
Release of confidential or privileged information
If “confidential” information is released without proper authority and/or consent, there may be civil and criminal consequences.
“Privileged” information may be released by the client, but there may be adverse personal and organizational consequences to the release.
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
Caveat/Disclaimer
This written outline is intended to
accompany and supplement an oral
presentation concerning the listed
material. The outline should not be
used as the sole basis for any legal
conclusion or opinion concerning the
subject matter. Please consult the
Office of the Corporation Counsel if
you have any legal questions.
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
26
Mahalo!
Overvi
ew of
Ethics
If you have any questions, please call us at (808)
961-8251, or email us
jyoshimoto@hawaiicounty.gov