Bill Banning Moonlighting Mayors Moves Forward
鲍笔顿础罢贰顿:听The bill must still pass several more votes before it goes to Gov. David Ige.
颁辞谤谤别肠迟颈辞苍:听A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the Senate Judiciary Committee removed exempted the governor from the emoluments ban. Provisions covering the governor are still in the bill.
Mayors who hold jobs outside their city positions, like Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell, could be banned from having any outside employment or business interests by 2022.
The Senate Judiciary Committee passed Tuesday morning. The bill, first introduced by House Speaker Scott Saiki last session, would prohibit the mayors of each county as well as the governor from having jobs after they are elected.
The bill has come up for the last several years and seemed to target Caldwell, who holds an outside position on the board of Territorial Savings Bank. Caldwell currently leads the pack in fundraising for the 2022 governors race.
Saiki has said the bill was inspired by efforts to force President Donald Trump to adhere to the emoluments clause in the U.S. Constitution, which is intended to make sure federal officeholders do not receive outside payments or gifts.
The committee expanded prohibitions having a controlling interest in businesses while also holding office. That could affect Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami, who holds interest in his families chain of stores, according to his financial disclosures filed last year.
Rhoads said mayors who still held those kinds of outside interests in 2022 wold have 60 days after taking office to either sell off their interests or turn them over to an independent trust.
The bill still exempts stocks, retirement social security and real estate income. HB 361 still needs to pass a full vote by the Senate before the House can take another look at it.
At that point, the House can either agree to the Senate’s changes and send the bill straight to the governor or disagree and hash it out in another committee.
