Lobbyist bill draws opposition

LIHUE — Two Kauai residents testified against proposed legislation that sets up regulations for lobbyists on the island at a public hearing on Wednesday, and the County Council received 55 written testimonies on Bill 2614.

“There is deep support for this bill,” said Councilman Gary Hooser, who introduced the bill in early January.

Jan TenBruggencate said he was testifying on behalf of himself and Nancy Kanna represented the Kauai Board of Realtors. Both said they supported legislation to require lobbyist registration, but the current bill isn’t up to snuff.

“I support lobbyist restoration that is transparent, fair and simple,” TenBruggencate said. “A sign-up sheet for lobbyist kept in the meeting room available for everyone to view, that’s what you need.”

TenBruggencate said that was the system 20 years ago at the Kauai County Council, and that should be the system today. He said the bill on the table is complicated and “let’s outsiders skate by and contains loopholes that let council members avoid registering” as lobbyists.

He said it allows council members to exempt their friends from registering as lobbyists by bringing them up to speak as expert witnesses. He said the bill also allows after-the-fact registration, “a big loophole that let’s people register up to five days after” speaking.

“The county 20 years ago had a simple, clear, clean registration procedure which met the state constitutional requirements,” TenBruggencate said. “It’s very transparent and it does the job. It’s what we need.”

Kanna said the Kauai Board of Realtors supports a “sound framework for transparency in lobbying that is reasonable and balanced.”

Kanna said the board believes the bill, in its current form, to be “overarching, and presents an unreasonable burden.”

The County Council will revisit Bill 2614 in their Feb. 24 meeting at the Historic County Building.