Hawai‘i State Ethics Commission

The State Ethics Code requires state elected officials, members of state boards and commissions, and state employees holding certain positions to file an annual Disclosure of Financial Interests with the Hawaiʻi State Ethics Commission (“Commission”).

The following is a general list of persons who are required to file:

• Elected officials: the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, state legislators, trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and candidates for and delegates to the constitutional convention.
• Agency and department heads: directors, deputy directors, division chiefs, and the executive directors and their deputies of every state agency.
• Legislative Branch: all permanent employees of the legislature and its service agencies, other than persons employed in clerical, secretarial, or similar positions.
• Offices of the Governor and Lt. Governor: the administrative director of the state (i.e. the governor’s chief of staff), and assistants in the office of the governor and the lieutenant governor, other than persons employed in clerical, secretarial, or similar positions.
• University of Hawaii (UH): members of the Board of Regents, the president, vice-presidents, assistant vice-presidents, chancellors, and the provosts of UH and its community colleges. Other UH filers may be required to file under other categories, as a director, department head, or fiscal officer.
• Department of Education (DOE): members of the Board of Education, the superintendent, deputy superintendent, assistant superintendents, complex area superintendents, the state librarian, and the special assistant to the state librarian. Other DOE filers may be required to file based on other categories.
• State Judiciary: the administrative director and deputy director of the courts. Other JUD filers may be required to file based on other categories.
• Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA): the administrator and assistant administrator of OHA. Other OHA filers may be required to file based on other categories.
• State boards and commissions: members of state boards and commissions whose original terms of office are more than one year and whose functions are not solely advisory.
• Purchasing agents, fiscal officers, and hearings officers of every state agency.

• Financial Disclosures E-Filing Quick Guide for Filers
• Financial Disclosures E-Filing User Guide

• Elected State Officials:
  • Governor
  • Lieutenant Governor
  • State Legislators
  • Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustees
  • Constitutional Convention Delegates
• Agency and Department Heads
  • Directors
  • Deputy Directors
• Office of the Governor
  • Administrative Director
• University of Hawaiʻi
  • President
  • Vice-Presidents
  • Assistant Vice-Presidents
  • Chancellors
• Department of Education
  • Superintendent
  • Deputy Superintendent
  • State Librarian
  • Assistant to the State Librarian
• State Judiciary
  • Administrative Director
  • Deputy Director of the Courts
• Office of Hawaiian Affairs
  • Administrator
  • Assistant Administrator
• Members of the following state boards are public filers under HRS § 84-17(d):
  • Agribusiness Development Corporation
  • Board of Agriculture
  • Board of Education
  • Board of Land and Natural Resources
  • Commission on Water Resource Management
  • Hawaiʻi Community Development Authority
  • Hawaiʻi Housing Finance and Development Corporation
  • Hawaiʻi Public Housing Authority
  • Hawaiʻi Public Utilities Commission
  • Hawaiʻi State Ethics Commission
  • Hawaiian Homes Commission
  • Land Use Commission
  • Legacy Land Conservation Commission
  • Natural Area Reserves System Commission
  • Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaiʻi
  • Stadium Authority Commission
  • University of Hawai‘i Board of Regents

State Legislators: January 31 (each year)

Current Employee & Board Filers: May 31 (each year)

New Filers: Within 30 days of election or appointment to a state position that is required to file

Exit Filers: Within 30 days of leaving your state position (if your last disclosure was filed more than 180 days prior)

Filers are required to report certain types of financial interests, such as income; business ownership; stocks, bonds, and mutual funds; officer or director positions in for-profit or non-profit business; real property; loans; names of clients assisted or represented before state agencies; and creditor interests in an insolvent business.

In addition, state legislators, state board members, and state employee filers are required to disclose their own financial interests, as well as those held by a spouse or dependent child.

Candidates running for the offices of:

• Governor
• Lieutenant Governor
• State Senate
• State House of Representatives
• Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustee
• State Constitutional Convention Delegates

For incumbent state elected officials, you must file a candidate disclosure, even if you have already filed a regular financial disclosure this year based on your current state position.

• Candidate Financial Disclosures E-Filing Instructions and Tips for Filers
• Candidate Disclosures E-Filing User Guide

Candidate financial disclosures shall be filed no later than ten days after the nomination filing deadline established pursuant to HRS § 12-6. For the 2024 election, the deadline is June 14, 2024.

Filers are required to report certain types of financial interests, such as income; business ownership; stocks, bonds, and mutual funds; officer or director positions in for-profit or non-profit business; real property; loans; names of clients assisted or represented before state agencies; and creditor interests in an insolvent business.

Candidates are required to report their own financial interests (including jointly held assets). They are not required to report financial interests that are owned solely by a spouse or dependent child.

If you are a state legislator, state employee, or member of a state board or commission, you must file a gift disclosure if all of the following circumstances apply:

1. During the disclosure period, you (or your spouse or dependent child) receive either directly or indirectly: (a) a gift that is valued at more than $200, or (b) two or more gifts from the same source, where the combined value of the items is more than $200;
2. The source of the gift(s) has interests that may be affected by official action that you take in your state capacity; and
3. The gift is not exempted by law from disclosure.

• Gift Disclosures E-Filing Instructions and Tips for Filers
• Gift Disclosures E-Filing User Guide

These gifts must be reported on your gift disclosure if all of the following circumstances apply:

1. You (or your spouse or dependent child) receive either directly or indirectly: (a) a gift that is valued at more than $200, or (b) two or more gifts from the same source, where the combined value of the items is more than $200;
2. The source of the gift(s) has interests that may be affected by official action that you take in your state capacity; and
3. The gift is not exempted by law from disclosure.

Gift disclosures are due by June 30 of each year.

Reporting Period for 2024:  The gift disclosure covers gifts received between June 1, 2023 and May 31, 2024.