FAQ Settings
Under Act 165, only certain state officials are required to take live ethics training: elected officials, high-level state employees, members of key state boards and commissions, and any state official who is required to file a public financial disclosure under HRS § 84-1?(d) (see below).
Everyone else may take the online, self-directed training program.
Yes. All trainings will provide a general overview of the State Ethics Code. The primary difference is the type of examples and scenarios used in the training. We also offer a continuing legal education course that is designed for state government attorneys.
Yes, you must complete a new training session by January 1, 2024. If you attended training within the last three years (between January 2020 and January 2023), then you’ve met the initial requirement. You won’t need to take it again for the next four years.
No. If you serve on a state task force, committee, or board that is purely advisory in nature, then you are not subject to the new mandatory training requirements. If in doubt, please ask the Ethics Commission whether the mandatory training law applies to you. You are also welcome to take the online, self-directed training program — it’s a great resource!
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.
The following state officials must take a LIVE ethics training course:
- Elected Officials: Legislators, Governor, Lt. Governor
- Executive Branch: Department heads (Directors & Deputy Directors), Governor’s Chief of Staff
- Department of Education (DOE): Superintendent and Deputy Superintendents
- Judiciary: Administrative Director and Deputy Director
- Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA): Trustees, CEO, and Executive Administrators
- State Library: State Librarian and Special Assistant
- University of Hawai’i (UH): President, Vice Presidents, Assistant Vice Presidents, Provost, and Chancellors
Members of of the following state boards and commissions:
- Agribusiness Development Corporation (ADC)
- Board of Agriculture (BOA)
- Board of Education (BOE)
- Board of Land & Natural Resources (BLNR)
- Commission on Water Resource Management (CWRM)
- Hawai’i Community Development Authority (HCDA)
- Hawai’i Housing Finance & Development Corporation (HHFDC)
- Hawai’i Public Housing Authority (HPHA)
- Hawai’i Public Utilities Commission (HPUC)
- Hawai’i State Ethics Commission (HSEC)
- Hawaiian Homes Commission
- Land Use Commission (LUC)
- Legacy Land Conservation Commission
- Natural Area Reserves System Commission
- Natural Energy Lab. of Hawai’i Authority (NELHA)
- Stadium Authority
- University of Hawai’i Board of Regents
learningmanager.adobe.com/primetimehawaii
*You must login to your Adobe Learning Manager account and watch the entire training in order to receive credit on your learner transcript. If you have questions, email [email protected].
https://judiciaryelearning.csod.com
*You must login to the Judiciary eLearning Center, watch the entire Ethics for State Employees training, complete the Hawai’i State Ethics Commission certificate of completion request form, and then complete the Judiciary’s eLearning Center Acknowledgment in order to receive full credit.
Contact your HR office to access your LMS portal
Contact your HR office to access your LMS portal
- 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
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.
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:
- 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;
- The source of the gift(s) has interests that may be affected by official action that you take in your state capacity; and
- The gift is not exempted by law from disclosure.
These gifts must be reported on your gift disclosure if all of the following circumstances apply:
- 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;
- The source of the gift(s) has interests that may be affected by official action that you take in your state capacity; and
- 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.
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 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.
- Go to: Create a New Account
- Enter your First, Middle (optional), and Last Name
- Enter your Email and Confirm Email Address
- Click “Sign Up”
- Check your Email with a link to create a password
- Go to: Forgot Your Password
- Enter your Email Address
- Click “Send Password Reset Email”
- Check your Email with a link to create your new password
Check our easy-to-follow Quick Guide for Lobbying: https://ethics.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/quickguide_lobbying.pdf
Yes. File a separate Lobbyist Registration for each Client/Organization that you represent.
You may register other associates in your lobbying firm or your company as long as each person has a user account that is linked to your firm or organization.
List both the legal name and the “dba” name.
The Hawai‘i State Legislature operates on a biennial legislative system, starting in every odd year. For example, if you registered for 2023-2024, your registration is valid until December 31, 2024.
If you continue to lobby for the same client after that time, you’ll need to file a new registration before the next cycle begins.
You can terminate your lobbyist registration through your e-filing account. Click on the Lobbyist Registration tab on the menu bar and select your registration form.
Click File Termination (top right). In the pop-up window, select the effective termination date (current date is set as default), select reason for termination, and check the certification box. Then click Save to file the termination notice.
The lobbyist who was terminated is the only person who will receive the email confirmation. So, if you are filing on behalf of someone else, you will not receive an email; instead, you can check the filing on the Lobbyist Registration tab.
All lobbyist registrations automatically expire on December 31st at the end of the legislative biennium (which ends in an even-numbered year).
Click on the Expenditures Reports on the menu bar and then click on the New button to create a form.
After you click Save on the initial window, scroll down to the Lobbyist Compensation section on your form. A list of all registered lobbyists for the selected Organization should be automatically populated on your form based on registrations as of that date. If you have more than 6 registered lobbyists, click View All to see the full list.
Be sure to verify the names of lobbyist listed on your form. The list should include lobbyists who were terminated during the reporting period (so you can report their final compensation). If someone is not listed, check if the person is registered in the E-filing System.
Note: Lobbyists do not need to file a separate Lobbyist Expenditure Report if all lobbyist compensation and lobbying-related expenditures are reported by the Client/Organization on an Organization Expenditure Report.
- If you lobbied during the Special Session of the Legislature, please file your Special Session lobbying report within thirty days (30) after the Special Session. If you did not lobby on matters considered during the Special Session, you are not required to file a Special Session report.
- What to Report? The special session report covers the reporting period from May 1 through adjournment sine die of the special session. To avoid duplicate reporting, expenditures and contributions listed on the special session report should be excluded from any regular lobbying reports filed thereafter.
Here are the filing deadlines for 2024:
Wednesday, January 31
- Lobbying Expenditures and Contributions Reports for May 1-December 31, 2023
Monday, April 1
- Lobbying Expenditures and Contributions Reports for January 1-February 29, 2024
Friday, May 31
- Lobbying Expenditures and Contributions Reports for March 1-April 30, 2024
Effective April 19, 2023, ALL lobbyists are required to complete a lobbyist training course prior registering as a lobbyist, and repeat the training at least once every two years.
Act 20 also requires lobbyists to certify that they completed the training and keep a copy of the training certificate or other record of completion for a period of six years after submitting a lobbyist registration.
If you already registered as a lobbyist for 2023-2024, your lobbyist registrations will remain valid through the end of the legislative biennium on December 31, 2024, and you can take the lobbyist training when you renew your registration for 2025-2026.
But if you are hired to lobby for a new client for 2023-2024, then you must file a separate lobbyist registration and complete your mandatory lobbyist training as indicated above.
- To access the online, self-guided training module, go to: https://ethics.hawaii.gov/lobbyistslawtrain/
- Live mandatory lobbyist training webinars are also offered in early January, prior to the start of the legislative session. For a schedule of live trainings, go to: https://ethics.hawaii.gov/live-training/