In a move to improve ethics in government following the dual bribery convictions for former State Senate Majority Leader J. Kalani English and former State Rep. Ty Cullen, Gov. Josh Green has signed seven anti-corruption bills recommended by the Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct.
The bills “will allow even more sunshine into the executive and legislative branches of government,” Green said at a signing ceremony in April. The measures address concerns about fundraising, the reporting of expenditures by lobbyists and campaign finance and place a $100 cap on campaign contributions from an individual per election cycle.
“The people of Hawaiʻi deserve a transparent and accountable government,” said Green, asserting that the scandal, in which the two lawmakers took bribes from a wastewater contractor to promote bills favorable to his business, “shook our faith statewide in government and created a dark cloud over our state.”
