Associated Press: Hawaii lawmakers pass some reforms after bribery scandal

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii lawmakers this year passed several bills to boost government transparency and promote better lawmaker behavior. But their critics, and some lawmakers themselves, say they still have work to do, especially after a bribery scandal sullied the state Legislature.

“One would think that following on the heels of two guys going to jail that more would have been done,” said Gary Hooser, a former state senator from Kauai. …

Both Hooser and Sandy Ma, the executive director of the government watchdog group Common Cause Hawaii, lamented lawmakers’ failure to ban all campaign fundraising during the legislative session. Instead, lawmakers passed a narrower measure that would prohibit holding fundraisers.

Hooser said in his experience, lawmakers raise most of their campaign funds not at fundraising events but by calling people and asking them for money.

“What makes it most egregious is a lot of the donors will have issues before the Legislature,” Hooser said. He cited big business executives or major landowners as examples.

“And so when a legislator calls them and says, ‘you know, I need your help raising money, can you help?’ The donor may feel, or often would feel, compelled to make a donation. And I believe that’s unethical. Even if it’s not a direct quid pro quo,” Hooser said.

House Speaker Scott Saiki, a Democrat, said he believes lawmakers should revisit the issue in the future.

Lawmakers passed another bill that aims to limit the influence of “dark money,” which refers to political campaign spending by groups that are allowed to raise unlimited sums and aren’t required to reveal their donors. …

Ma welcomed the legislation but said it should be strengthened in the future to cover all organizations that spend on political campaigns, including corporations, unions and chambers of commerce.