LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i County Council had many concerns after hearing the same lobbying firm hired by Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr.’s administration to represent the county’s interests at the state Legislature had also been hired by Syngenta to lobby at
LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i County Council had many concerns after hearing the same lobbying firm hired by Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr.’s administration to represent the county’s interests at the state Legislature had also been hired by Syngenta to lobby at the Capitol.
Some council members were also dissatisfied with the level of service provided under a $60,000 contract for four months. Councilman Ross Kagawa was the only one defending the lobbyists, saying their services have guaranteed that millions of dollars keep flowing to Kaua‘i.
“The conflict of interest is inherent,” Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura said at a council meeting Wednesday. Seed companies such as Syngenta, she said, have pushed for bills that would take power away from county governments.
Lobbyists James Pacopac and Scott Matsuura, from JS Hawai‘i Consultants LLC., said if a conflict of interest surfaces during the ongoing Legislature, they would notify Syngenta and the county government, and so far that hasn’t happened.
Both lobbyists are listed at the Hawai‘i State Ethics Commission as registered lobbyists in 2013 for the County of Kaua‘i, Syngenta Hawai‘i LLC, Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative and The Hawthorn Group, LC. Pacopac is also lobbying for the Hawai‘i Electricians Market Enhancement Political Fund.
According to the state Ethics Commission, Pacopac and Matsuura have been lobbying for Syngenta since 2009. Additionally, the National Institute on Money in State Politics lists both men as lobbyists for the Hawai‘i Superferry in 2006.
Councilman Tim Bynum said the Hawai‘i Crop Improvement Association lobbied for a number of bills that would strip legislative power from counties. Pacopac said he does not work for HCIA, but responded affirmatively when Bynum asked if HCIA President Mark Phillipson was the general manager for Syngenta Hawai‘i.
One of those bills, Senate Bill 727, would erase from state law a provision that says, “Each county shall have the power to enact ordinances deemed necessary to protect health, life and property (of their citizens).” The bill made considerable progress at the Senate, where it passed third reading by a 24-1 vote. Only after it was handed to the House of Representatives that the bill was deferred March 21, and will likely die.
HCIA submitted written testimony for SB 727, citing “examples of bills and ordinances in which the counties overstepped their kuleana.”
One of six examples mentioned by HCIA is “A group called Kaua‘i Rising which not only targets the seed farmers, but who has proposed ordinances that directly call for the pre-emption of federal and state laws. This extreme group is comprised of the same vocal minority that shut down the Superferry.”
“I won’t say I’m furious, but I will say I’m disappointed,” said Councilman Gary Hooser, adding as much as he was tempted to focus on the lobbyists hired by the county, he believes it’s ultimately the management at the Mayor’s Office that is responsible for this.
“We paid $60,000 for four months of work and I don’t believe we got nearly the value,” he said.
Lobbyist didn’t provide the quality and scope of service he expected them to provide, said Hooser, adding that he didn’t believe they monitored bills that would affect the county or at least asked the county’s positions in some of the issues.
“The conflict of interest between Syngenta and the county is clear,” Hooser said.
The lobbyists’ responsibilities include reporting and alerting clients about certain bills, and sometimes they might not want to do that, he said, as there may be situations where two different entities may have contrary positions and values.
Hooser said was looking forward for additional discussion.
Council Vice Chair Nadine Nakamura said the council needs to “look very closely” at future contracts.
Council Chair Jay Furfaro said he would send a communication to the county attorney asking for clarification in a Jan. 3, 1991, legal opinion on the council’s and the administration’s role in hiring a lobbyist and/or a legislative coordinator.
Councilman Mel Rapozo said he agreed with Bynum that the Legislature’s exemption from complying with the Sunshine Law is a problem. But the council cannot control it, he said.
By state law, county councils, and state and county boards and commissions must post meeting agenda six days prior to a meeting. Because the Legislature is exempt from the Sunshine Law, unpopular measures could be passed with little or no notice at all — such as the creation of the Public Lands Development Corporation in 2011.
Rapozo’s main concern — and also the concern of other council members — was with the administration’s management of the lobbyists’ contract. He said it was “unacceptable” that the administration gave a notice to proceed on the lobbyists’ contract when the Legislature was already rolling for a month.
“I apologize for the late notice to proceed,” Rapozo told the lobbyists. “That’s ridiculous.”
On Thursday, however, on the first day of the Fiscal Year 2014 budget review sessions, Furfaro said he was “disturbed” to find out the mistake that caused the delay was the lobbyist firm’s fault — though neither Pacopac or Matsuura pointed that out Wednesday.
Rapozo also said that as far as a potential conflict of interest, it should have been identified in the contact. It would be “very difficult,” he said, to find a lobbyist willing to represent only the county of Kaua‘i.
“I don’t think it’s possible in today’s world,” he said.
Kagawa said he knows Pacopac and Matsuura for more than 20 years, and $60,000 is a small price to pay for their services. They have various contacts developed over the years at the Legislature, he said, and their lobbying efforts have contributed to secure more than $13 million in Transient Accommodation Taxes for Kaua‘i.
“It’s a very wise investment for us to have them as our consultants, and I applaud the administration for keeping their employment,” Kagawa said.
The seed companies such as Syngenta follow strict state and federal laws, he said.
Besides, issues with the seed companies should be resolved by the state Department of Health or the state Department of Agriculture rather than the county, according to Kagawa.
“The county’s responsibility is not regulating the corn seed industry,” he said.
Furfaro, however, said it’s not that the council would be promoting Kaua‘i as a “separate kingdom,” but they still need to have stewardship of the island.
On Thursday, during the budget review session at the council chambers, county Managing Director Gary Heu said the administration asked the lobbyists to pay close attention to specific bills, basically the ones that would affect the county financially. If the lobbyists had to look at the 600 bills the administration chose to track, it would “dilute” their level of services, he said.
“You said so it wouldn’t dilute their effectiveness,” Furfaro told Heu. “This tea bag has been used about the fourth time. (The lobbyists) didn’t make a very good impression on me.”
Heu said the contract is on a year-to-year basis, and the administration took the contract off the proposed Fiscal Year 2014, which starts July 1. Had it been a different year, the administration might have left it in, but given the current fiscal conditions, they decided otherwise, he said.
Rapozo said he sees the value of lobbyists, and perhaps the county should contract on an hourly basis.
“But we have got to remember, we get four lobbyists at the Capitol every day; a senator and three representatives,” he said. “They should be calling us … I think we have to utilize them a lot more.”
