Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 33, Number 4, 1 April 2016 — OHA trustees adopt code of conduct [ARTICLE]

OHA trustees adopt code of conduct

Code allows sanctions for tnustees who hneak the mles The Office of Hawaiian Affairs B oard of Trustees has adopted a new code of conduct with sanctions for those who fail to follow the board rules. Trustees who violate the code could lose their committee assignments or be barred

from out of state travel. The move is touted as a way to hold trustees accountable for their actions. Board Chair Robert Lindsey said, "This new authority to impose disciplinary sanctions against trustees is about helping our organization send a strong, unequivocal message that its nine-memberpolicymaking board is committed to meeting the high standards of ethics, transparency and accountability that are expected from oversight responsibilities." Trustees voted to amend a paragraph-long

bylaw and add a 13-page long "Code of Conduct and Sanctions for Violations of the Code of Conduct." The code contains a discussion of the responsibilities of OHA Trustees and laws that govern trustees' conduct. According to the new bylaw, "The Sanctions for Violations of the Code of Conduct shall contain procedures whieh are fitting to the position of an elected trustee while ensuring that the appropriate due process is afforded to a Trustee whose matter is being considered by the Board of Trustees." It also spells out a complaint process to initiate disciplinary action against a trustee

who violates the policy. Under the policy, possible sanctions include censure, stripping a trustee of his or her committee assignments, loss of out of state travel privileges, the loss of a trustee's allowanee and the loss of a trustee's eolumn in Ka Wai Ola. ■

"our organization...is eommitted to meeting the high standards of ethics, transparency and accountability that are expected"