RELATING TO NEPOTISM.

SB2244

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

2244

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to nepotism
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

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SECTION 1.
�

The legislature recognizes the importance of maintaining transparency,
accountability, and fairness in government operations.
�
While existing laws prohibit most state
employees from hiring or supervising relatives or awarding contracts to
businesses owned by relatives or household members, these provisions do not
currently extend to legislators or employees of the legislative and judicial
branches.

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Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to
subject legislative and judicial employees to the same ethical standards as
other state employees, effectively preventing nepotism across all branches of
state government.

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SECTION
2
.
�
Section
84-13.2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

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"
[
[
]
�84-13.2[
]
]
�
Nepotism; prohibition.
�

(a)
�
No
legislator or
employee
shall:

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(1)
�
Appoint, hire,
promote, or retain a relative or household member to, or demote, discharge, or
terminate a relative or household member from; or

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(2)
�
Participate
in an interview or discussion regarding the appointment, hiring, promotion, or
retention of a relative or household member to, or the demotion, discharge, or
termination of a relative or household member from,

a paid position in the
legislator's or
employee's
employing agency
; provided that this
subsection shall not prohibit [
an
]
a legislator or
employee from
performing ministerial acts that may impact the relative or household member if
those acts are a part of the normal job functions of the employee.

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(b)
�
No
legislator or

employee shall supervise a relative or household
member unless the
legislator or
employee
:

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(1)
�
H
as
a physical impairment requiring the employment of a particular relative or
household member; provided that the
legislator or
employee discloses the
prospective employment to the state ethics commission before the appointment or
hire is made; or

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(2)
�
Disqualifies
oneself from taking any official action directly affecting [
the
]
a

relative or household member.

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(c)
�
No

legislator or

employee
shall award a contract to or otherwise take official action on a contract with
a business if the
legislator or

employee knows or reasonably should know that the
legislator's
or

employee's relative or household
member is an executive officer of or holds a substantial ownership interest in
that business.

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(d)
�
Notwithstanding
the prohibitions in this section, if
[
an
]
a legislator or
employee who is a supervisor or
executive director is unable to waive or disengage from completing their
official duties or from
taking
official action and is legally required to take action that directly impacts a
relative or household member receiving an
award or other official action
on a contract described in subsection (c), the
legislator or
employee
shall not be in violation of this section if the
legislator or
employee:

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(1)
�
Has complied with
the disclosure requirements of section 84-17; and

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(2)
�
Posts a notice of
intent to award the contract and files a copy of the notice with the state
ethics commission at least five days before awarding the contract.
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If the posting and filing of the award in
advance is otherwise prohibited by law, notice shall be posted and filed as
soon as practicable.
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Every notice of
intent shall describe the
legislator's or
employee's relationship with
the relative or household member, the relative or household member's
relationship with the entity receiving the contract, action taken and to be
taken affecting the relative or household member's business, and the dollar
value of the contract.

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(e)
�

Upon application, the state ethics commission may grant an exception to [
an
]

a legislator,
employee
,
or agency that is unable to comply with
this section for good cause, including a demonstrated lack of qualified
personnel or applicants.

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(f)
�

Any
legislator or

employee
who knowingly violates this section shall be subject to the administrative
fines set forth in section 84-39.
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Any
favorable action obtained by a relative or household member of [
an
]
a

legislator or

employee
in violation of this section shall be voidable in accordance with sections
84-16 and 84-19.

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(g)
�

This section shall not affect the applicability of section 84-13 or
84-14.

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(h)
�

This section shall not prohibit a state agency from appointing, hiring,
promoting, retaining, demoting, discharging, or terminating a relative or
household member of [
an
]
a legislator or
employee employed by the
agency.

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[
(i)
�
Notwithstanding sections 84-2
and 84-3, this section shall not apply to employees or agencies of the
legislative or judicial branch of the State.

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(j)
]
(i)
�
For purposes of this section:

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"Household member" means
an individual who resides in the same dwelling unit as the
legislator or

employee.

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"Relative" means the
legislator's
or
employee's parent, grandparent, stepparent, child, grandchild,
stepchild, foster child, adopted child, sibling, half-sibling, stepsibling,
parent's sibling, first cousin, sibling's child, spouse, spouse's parent,
child-in-law, or sibling-in-law, or any individual who has become a member of
the
legislator's or
employee's immediate family through the Hawaiian
hanai custom."

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SECTION 3.
�
Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
�
New statutory
material is underscored.

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SECTION 4.
�
This Act shall take effect on June 30, 2027.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Package;
Ethics Commission; Nepotism; Legislature; Judiciary

Description:

Subjects
legislative and judicial employees to the same ethical standards prohibiting
nepotism that are applicable to other state employees.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.