The Maui Board of Ethics unanimously approved sweeping new rule changes Wednesday, including what several members of the public described as a gag order against anyone who files an ethics complaint against a county employee or elected official.

Most of the 44 changes were in response to a county charter amendment voters approved last year to give the board greater independence and improve its operational efficiency, modeling many amendments after similar rules long utilized by the state and Honolulu ethics commissions. 

But one significant rule change unique to Maui binds the complainant to a confidentiality requirement, forbidding that person or citizens group from disclosing the pending complaint’s existence or sharing details of it publicly. If the ethics board or staff find that confidentiality was violated, they can use that as grounds to dismiss the complaint without further investigation. 

“We need our public to be consciously aware of what is happening,” Maui resident Paul Deslaurie told the board ahead of its vote. “You’re going against transparency, which we’ve been so desperately trying to do in this county.”

Lauren Akitake, who in July was heralded as the board’s first executive director and legal counsel, said the rule changes as a whole are a “pivotal restructuring,” and defended strengthening the confidentiality rule as part of that because it protects the board’s ability to make fair and impartial decisions. 

She wants to avoid people filing an ethics complaint and using its mere existence for political purposes or to imply that a county employee or official has done something improper before the board or staff has even had a chance to review it. 

Maui Ethics Board Vice Chair Michael Lilly, who also served for several years on the Honolulu Ethics Commission, said the rule changes preserve the board’s independence, protect privacy and ensure fairness and due process on both sides. 

He highlighted another significant change to the rules, which shifts the responsibility of vetting ethics complaints and reviewing financial disclosure statements to the board’s newly hired staff, which includes the executive director, an investigator and an administrative assistant.

Lilly said that is how the Honolulu Ethics Commission operates, and it will alleviate a major time commitment from the volunteer board members while preserving their impartiality in cases that staff may elevate to the board level for action.

The inclusion of the confidentiality requirement was too much for the six people who testified to support, with several raising concerns that it may violate First Amendment rights.

“I’m asking you not to approve the gag order on citizens or citizen groups to bring their thing to the court of public opinion,” Maui resident Bruce Douglas said.

After little discussion, the board adopted the rule change 6-0, with members Noel Ching-Johnson and Kathryn Shroder excused.

See all the rule changes below.

Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.