The executive director of the state Ethics Commission, which oversees the conduct of state lawmakers and other state employees, wants the commission to set his pay instead of the Legislature.
Daniel Mollway’s last raise was 10 years ago, and he suspects some legislators don’t want to relinquish the power to set his salary because of personal feelings about enforcement actions by the commission.
With a salary of $77,964, Mollway said he now earns less than his associate director, who makes about $80,000.
Mollway is the only Ethics Commission staff member whose salary is set by the Legislature. The commission sets the salary of all the staff except the executive director.
"I don’t know what the feeling of animosity toward the commission is," Mollway said. "What we’re doing is, like the police, we enforce law as we’re told to."
Mollway said the effort to give the Ethics Commission control over his salary is not about his own pay raise, but about giving the commission independence from one of the government bodies it regulates.
This session, the Senate Committee on Transportation, Military Operations and Government Affairs passed Senate Bill 903 to transfer authority over Mollway’s pay back to the Ethics Commission, and the bill now moves to the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
The same proposal has stalled in the House, where an identical bill was approved by the Legislative Management Committee but became stuck in the Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee.
Judiciary Chairman Eric Hamakawa said he doesn’t plan to hear the bill.
"I don’t think it’s a high legislative priority to hear the bill, first of all," said Hamakawa, D-3rd (S. Hilo, Puna). "Has there been a large community outcry for that?"
Hamakawa also said he does not see a conflict with the Legislature setting the salary of the Ethics Commission executive director.
But Ethics Commission Chairwoman Leolani Abdul said there is a conflict because the commission receives complaints and enforces state ethics laws with respect to lawmakers’ conduct.
The Ethics Commission can investigate and formally charge state employees for violating state ethics laws regarding conflicts of interest, misuse of power or state resources and the acceptance and reporting of gifts. The commission is also responsible for enforcing the state lobbyist law.
Mollway estimates the commission conducts more than a dozen formal investigations and receives up to 200 complaints each year. Mollway also said the commission spends half its time providing legal advice on state ethics laws to various state employees.
Larry Meacham, executive director of the nonpartisan organization Common Cause Hawaii, said it is not appropriate for legislators to set the executive director’s salary "when he is charged with regulating them and even possibly charging them with offenses."
Abdul said the Legislature does not set the salaries of other similar commissions’ directors, such as the Campaign Spending Commission.
Mollway said that even if the bill passes, the Legislature would still be responsible for approving the Ethics Commission’s budget, which would include the funding request for the executive director’s salary.
