Chapter 84 — Standards

PART I. GENERAL PROVISIONS §84-1 Construction. This chapter shall be liberally construed to promote high standards of ethical conduct in state government. [L 1972, c 163, pt of §1]

§84-10 University of Hawaii; technology transfer activities; exemption. (a) Sections 84-12, 84-13, 84-14 to 84-16, and 84-18 shall not apply to technology transfer activities sponsored by the University of Hawaii; provided that the technology transfer activities comply with the r…

PART II. CODE OF ETHICS §84-11 Gifts. No legislator 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 wh…

§84-12 Confidential information. No legislator or employee shall disclose information which by law or practice is not available to the public and which the legislator or employee acquires in the course of the legislator's or employee's official duties, or use the information for …

§84-13 Fair treatment. (a) No legislator or employee shall use or attempt to use the legislator'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 fo…

§84-14 Conflicts of interests. (a) No employee shall take any official action directly affecting: A department head who is unable to disqualify the department head's self on any matter described in paragraphs (1) and (2) will not be in violation of this subsection if the departme…

§84-15 Contracts. (a) A state agency shall not enter into any contract to procure or dispose of goods or services, or for construction, with a legislator, an employee, or a business in which a legislator or an employee has a controlling interest, involving services or property of…

§84-16 Contracts voidable. In addition to any other penalty provided by law, any contract entered into by the State in violation of this chapter is voidable on behalf of the State; provided that in any action to avoid a contract pursuant to this section the interests of third par…

§84-17 Requirements of disclosure. (a) For the purposes of this section, "disclosure period" refers to the period from January 1 of the preceding calendar year to the time of the filing of the employee's or legislator's disclosure of financial interests. (b) The disclosure of fin…

§84-17.5 Disclosure files; disposition. (a) All financial disclosure statements filed by a legislator, employee, or delegate to a constitutional convention shall be maintained by the state ethics commission for a period of six years from the date of the financial disclosure state…

§84-18 Restrictions on post employment. (a) No former legislator or employee shall disclose any information that by law or practice is not available to the public and that the former legislator or employee acquired in the course of the former legislator's or employee's official d…

§84-19 Violation. (a) Any favorable state action obtained in violation of the code of ethics for legislators or employees and former employees is voidable in the same manner as voidable contracts as provided for under section 84-16; and the State by the attorney general may pursu…

§84-2 Applicability. This chapter shall apply to every nominated, appointed, or elected officer, employee, and candidate to elected office of the State and for election to the constitutional convention, but excluding justices and judges; provided that in the case of elected deleg…

PART III. STATE ETHICS COMMISSION §84-21 State ethics commission established; composition. (a) There is established within the office of the auditor for administrative purposes only a commission to be known as the state ethics commission. The commission shall consist of five memb…

§84-3 Definitions. "Business" includes a corporation, a partnership, a sole proprietorship, a trust or foundation, or any other individual or organization carrying on a business, whether or not operated for profit. "Compensation" means any money, thing of value, or economic benef…

PART IV. ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT §84-31 Duties of commission; complaint, hearing, determination. (a) The ethics commission shall have the following powers and duties: (b) Charges concerning the violation of this chapter shall be in writing, signed by the person making the …

§84-31.5 REPEALED. L 1998, c 32, §1.

§84-32 Procedure. (a) With respect to legislators and employees removable only by impeachment: when the ethics commission after due hearings pursuant to section 84-31(c) determines that there is sufficient cause to file a complaint against a legislator or an employee removable on…

§84-33 Disciplinary action for violation. In addition to any other powers the civil service commission or other authority may have to discipline employees, the civil service commission or authority may reprimand, put on probation, demote, suspend, or discharge an employee found t…

§84-34 No compensation. The members of the ethics commission shall serve without compensation but shall be allowed their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. [L 1972, c 163, pt of §1]

§84-35 Staff. The ethics commission may employ and at pleasure remove such persons, including an executive director, as it may deem necessary for the performance of its functions. Effective July 1, 2005, the salary of the executive director shall be the same as the salary of the …

§84-36 Cooperation. The ethics commission may request and shall receive from every department, division, board, bureau, commission, or other agency of the State cooperation and assistance in the performance of its duties. [L 1972, c 163, pt of §1]

§84-37 Concurrent jurisdiction. Notwithstanding any provision contained herein, pursuant to article III, section 12 of the constitution of the State of Hawaii each house of the legislature may prescribe further rules of conduct covering its members and may investigate and discipl…

§84-39 Administrative fines. (a) Where an administrative fine has not been established for a violation of this chapter, any person, including a legislator or employee, who violates this chapter shall be subject to an administrative fine imposed by the state ethics commission that…

[PART V.] MANDATORY ETHICS TRAINING §84-41 REPEALED. L 2022, c 165, §4.

§84-42 Mandatory ethics training course. (a) Legislators, members of the board of education, trustees of the office of Hawaiian affairs, the governor, the lieutenant governor, executive department heads and deputies, and every other person whose financial disclosure statement is …

§84-43 Ethics training courses; live and online. (a) The state ethics commission shall establish, design, supervise, and conduct live and online ethics training courses for all persons required to complete training under section 84-42. (b) The live ethics training course may be c…