Report Title:

Liquor Commission Employees; Election Activities

 

Description:

Allows liquor commission employees, under certain conditions, to engage in election activities, and if a candidate for public office, to take a leave of absence. Prohibits solicitation and receipt of campaign contributions by commission employees from licensees. Establishes penalties. (CD1)

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

99

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

C.D. 1


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to the liquor commission.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Section 281, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§281-   Political activities of commission employees. (a) A commission employee may support, advocate, or aid in the election or defeat of any candidate for public office, or run for public office; provided the employee:

(1) Notifies the commission in writing of the employee's intent to support, advocate, or aid in the election or defeat of a candidate for public office; and

(2) If a candidate for public office, takes a leave of absence in accordance with chapter 79 for a period beginning prior to the initiation of political activities related to the candidacy and ending the day following the general election for the office.

(b) Notwithstanding chapter 11 or any other law to the contrary, no commission employee shall solicit or receive contributions, or receive or transfer money or anything of value from a licensee for the purpose of supporting, advocating, or aiding in the election or defeat of a candidate for public office. Violation of this subsection shall be:

(1) Punishable by summary dismissal of the employee; and

(2) Subject to penalties in accordance with section 11-228."

SECTION 2. Section 11-228, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) In the performance of its required duties, the commission may render a decision or issue an order affecting any person violating any provision of this subpart or section 281-   that shall provide for the assessment of an administrative fine in the manner prescribed as follows:

(1) If a natural person, an amount not to exceed $1,000 for each occurrence or an amount equivalent to three times the amount of an unlawful contribution or expenditure, whichever is greater; or

(2) If a corporation, organization, association, or labor union, it shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $1,000 for each occurrence; and

(3) Whenever a corporation, organization, association, or labor union violates this subpart, the violation shall be deemed to be also that of the individual directors, officers, or agents of the corporation, organization, association, or labor union, who have knowingly authorized, ordered, or done any of the acts constituting the violation."

SECTION 3. Section 281-17, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§281-17 Jurisdiction and powers. (a) The liquor commission, within its own county, shall have the sole jurisdiction, power, authority, and discretion, subject only to this chapter:

(1) To grant, refuse, suspend, and revoke any licenses for the manufacture, importation, and sale of liquors;

(2) To take appropriate action against a person who, directly or indirectly, manufactures or sells any liquor without being authorized pursuant to this chapter; provided that in counties which have established by charter a liquor control adjudication board, the board shall have the jurisdiction, power, authority, and discretion to hear and determine administrative complaints of the director regarding violations of the liquor laws of the State or of the rules of the liquor commission, and impose penalties [[]for[]] violations thereof as may be provided by law;

(3) To control, supervise, and regulate the manufacture, importation, and sale of liquors by investigation, enforcement, and education; provided that any educational program shall be limited to licensees and their employees and shall be financed through the money collected from the assessment of fines against licensees;

(4) From time to time to make, amend, and repeal such rules, not inconsistent with this chapter, as in the judgment of the commission seem appropriate for carrying out this chapter and for the efficient administration thereof, and the proper conduct of the business of all licensees, including every matter or thing required to be done or which may be done with the approval or consent or by order or under the direction or supervision of or as prescribed by the commission; which rules, when adopted as provided in chapter 91 shall have the force and effect of law;

(5) Subject to chapters 76 and 77, to appoint and remove an administrator, who may also be appointed an investigator and who shall be responsible for the operations and activities of the staff. The administrator may hire and remove hearing officers, investigators, and clerical or other assistants as its business may from time to time require, to prescribe their duties, and fix their compensation; to engage the services of experts and persons engaged in the practice of a profession, if deemed expedient. Every investigator, within the scope of the investigator's duties, shall have the powers of a police officer[. No employee of any commission, aside from exercising the right to vote, shall support, advocate, or aid in the election or defeat of any candidate for public office, and upon satisfactory proof of such prohibited activity the offender shall be summarily dismissed];

(6) To limit the number of licenses of any class or kind within the county, or the number of licenses of any class or kind to do business in any given locality, when in the judgment of the commission such limitations are in the public interest;

(7) To prescribe the nature of the proof to be furnished, the notices to be given, and the conditions to be met or observed in case of the issuance of a duplicate license in place of one alleged to have been lost or destroyed, including a requirement of any indemnity deemed appropriate to the case;

(8) To fix the hours between which licensed premises of any class or classes may regularly be open for the transaction of business, which shall be uniform throughout the county as to each class respectively;

(9) To prescribe all forms to be used for the purposes of this chapter not otherwise provided for in this chapter, and the character and manner of keeping of books, records, and accounts to be kept by licensees in any matter pertaining to their business;

(10) To investigate violations of this chapter, chapter 244D and, notwithstanding any law to the contrary, violations of the applicable department of health's allowable noise levels, through its investigators or otherwise, to include covert operations, and to report violations to the prosecuting officer for prosecution and, where appropriate, the director of taxation to hear and determine complaints against any licensee;

(11) To prescribe, by rule, the terms, conditions, and circumstances under which persons or any class of persons may be employed by holders of licenses;

(12) To prescribe, by rule, the term of any license of solicitor's and representative's permit authorized by this chapter, the annual or prorated amount, the manner of payment of fees for the licenses and permits, and the amount of filing fees; and

(13) To prescribe, by rule, the circumstances and penalty for the unauthorized manufacturing or selling of any liquor.

(b) Subject only to this chapter, the commission or board and each member thereof shall have the same powers respecting the administering of oaths, compelling the attendance of witnesses and the production of documentary evidence, and examining the witnesses as are possessed by a circuit court, except that the commission or board and each member thereof shall not be bound by the strict legal rules of evidence. In addition, the commission or board shall have the power to require the production of, and to examine any books, papers, and records of any licensee which may pertain to the licensee's business under the license or which may pertain to a matter at a hearing before the commission or board or to an investigation by the commission or board.

The exercise by the commission or board of the power, authority, and discretion vested in it pursuant to this chapter shall be final and shall not be reviewable by or appealable to any court or tribunal, except as otherwise provided in this chapter or chapter 91."

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.