Uncover the hidden truths on how money rules Hawaii politics. This is a must read for any voter.

Civil Beat, New York Times, Stanford University’s Joint Article on corruption in Hawaii:

Inside the Late-Night Parties Where Hawaii Politicians Raked In Money

April 17, 2024

After the state passed a law barring government contractors from donating to politicians, fund-raising parties showed just how completely the reform effort failed.

Lessons For Hawaii: Other States Have Strong Pay-To-Play Laws

Civil Beat

Experts say regulating contractor donations along with publicly financed elections could go a long way to taming corruption.

May 5, 2024

Hawaii will need to do more than ban officers and family members of contracted businesses from contributing to political campaigns if it wants to rein in pay-to-play practices, a review of other states’ policies shows.

Hawaii Ethics Commission Grapples With Pay-To-Play Issues

Civil Beat

The commission acknowledged that it's tough to oversee lawmakers who resist most accountability measures.

May 15, 2024

The Hawaii State Ethics Commission is trying to figure out how to wrangle two groups of people who are proving particularly challenging: high-level state employees who are politically active and legislators who have outside jobs with companies that have government business.  

Conflict Of Interest? Some Hawaii Lawmakers Work For Or Even Own Companies That Get State Contracts

Civil Beat

Businesses they're tied to have won contracts in construction, consulting and trash collection.

May 27, 2024

An examination of current state legislators’ business interests found that at least a dozen sitting lawmakers are paid by or even own entities that have won more than $56 million in government contracts since 2006.

Plans For A BWS Desalination Plant In Kalaeloa Get A $19 Million Boost

Civil Beat

Hirono called the effort to create a new drinking water source important to help protect Hawaii against climate change.

June 14, 2024

Hawaii is getting nearly $19 million in federal funding to help design and build a desalination facility in Kalaeloa that would convert seawater into drinking water, Sen. Mazie Hirono announced in a press release Friday.

‘Pay To Play’: Hawaii Moves To Expand The Ban On Contractor Campaign Donations

Civil Beat - Legislature 2023

State contractors contributed about $360,000 to campaigns in 2022.

February 9, 2023

The Legislature is setting its sights on campaign donations from state and county contractors that have been the subject of public corruption cases in recent decades.

Right now, a law banning donations from government contractors only applies to the contracted business, not the owners, officers or employees of those companies as the result of a loophole written more than a decade ago.

The Sunshine Blog: Reform Momentum Continues, Reining In Pay To Play, Gifts That Keep On Giving

Civil Beat - Let the Sunshine In

Short takes, outtakes, observations and other stuff you should know about public information, government accountability and ethical leadership in Hawaii.

March 19, 2023

Marathon man: House Judiciary Chair David Tarnas is continuing to move forward government reform bills efficiently and with the graciousness that has come to be a hallmark of his new leadership of the committee.

Why Campaign Finance Reform Requires A Public Call To Action

Civil Beat - Let the Sunshine In

For change to come from those who work within the system, it must be accompanied by pressure from those on the outside.

July 15, 2024

Several weeks ago, Keith Kaneshiro and members of the Dennis Mitsunaga engineering and architectural firm were found not guilty of bribery charges under the Federal Dishonest Services statute. Due to a series of federal court rulings and a pending U.S. Supreme Court case, the government in the Kaneshiro/Mitsunaga case was required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt there was “clear and unambiguous” evidence of a bribe.