VIDEO Oct 19, 2020: Join Eva Andrade with special guests Jim Hotchberg for this weeks episode of Faith in Politics as they talk about the Hawaii Charter Amendments that are on the general election ballot.

2020 PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT QUESTIONS FOR HONOLULU COUNTY

From Honolulu Republican Party, September 18, 2020

LINK: List of Charter Amendment Questions

Charter Question #1 (Resolution 19-35)

“Shall the Revised City Charter be amended to establish for the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu a term limit of two consecutive full four-year terms, the same term limit as is applicable to the Mayor and Councilmembers of the City and County of Honolulu?”

Basically there have been two guys running that office for the last 30 years (Peter Carlisle and Keith Kaneshiro).

Keith Kaneshiro was Honolulu’s second elected prosecutor and served two terms from 1988 to 1996.

Peter Carlisle succeeded Kaneshiro in 1997 and was elected to four terms.

In September 2010, Kaneshiro returned to the office by winning a special election to serve the final two years of the term vacated by Carlisle to run for mayor.

In November 2012, Kaneshiro was elected to a full four-year term.

In November 2016, Kaneshiro was re-elected to a full four-year term.

How the City Council Voted & Testimony - LINK

Charter Question #2 (Resolution 19-329, CD1)

“Shall the Revised City Charter be amended to establish a Youth Commission under the Managing Director?”

There shall be a youth commission consisting of fifteen members, each of whom shall be between the ages of fourteen to twenty-four years at the time of appointment...

The commission shall advise the council and mayor on the effects of policies, needs, assessments, priorities, programs, and budgets concerning the children and youth of the city. The commission shall also express the policy priorities of the children and youth of the city. The commission shall respond to requests for comment and recommendation on matters referred to the commission by the council, the mayor, and any officers, agencies including semi-autonomous agencies, and executive and legislative branch advisory committees of the city.

How the City Council Voted & Testimony - LINK

Charter Question #3 (Resolution 19-331)

“Shall the Revised City Charter be amended to allow the Honolulu Ethics Commission to control its own budget after it has been enacted?”

"This resolution would provide the Commission with budget flexibility and greater autonomy from City administration. Similar to the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney, the Commission would be able to control its budget after enactment.

Under this measure, the Commission would remain administratively attached to the Department of the Corporation Counsel (COR). At present, the Commission shares with COR an administrative services officer (ASO), who handles a variety of responsibilities for the Commission, including budget, fiscal matters, procurement, and personnel management, and provides other mission critical support. We have been assured by the introducer of this resolution that the ASO would continue to support the Commission even as the Commission attains budget flexibility. We seek your Committee's further assurance that this would be so, as the Commission does not have budget and fiscal staff capable of fulfilling the requirements of this measure." Victoria Marks Chair of the Honolulu Ethics Commission

How the City Council Voted & Testimony - LINK

Charter Question #4 (Resolution 20-83, FD1)

“Shall the Revised Charter be amended to require ethics commission staff to be appointed based on merit principles, but exempt them from the civil service position classification plan, and to have the salaries of all ethics commission staff set by the ethics commission, subject to specified limitations?”

"The Commission would have greater flexibility to describe positions, hire, and retain the specialized staff it needs to grow and strengthen the City's ethics and lobbyist programs.

In 2016, the Commission submitted a Charter amendment to exempt the Commission's staff attorneys from the classification plan and enable the Commission to set their salaries, within limits. That measure passed." Victoria Marks Chair of the Honolulu Ethics Commission

How the City Council Voted & Testimony – LINK

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MAUI: Vote ‘no’ for all 7 charter amendments