Committee to review proposed charter amendments for upcoming ballot

The Government Relations, Ethics and Transparency Committee will discuss whether to provide comments or suggest alternatives to the Charter Commission’s proposed charter amendments on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022 at 9 a.m.

Committee Chair Michael J. Molina encourages community members to provide their insight on the proposed charter amendments, which he said, “have the potential to change the way we vote and the overall structure of county government. Now is our chance to tell the Charter Commission which proposals the voters want to see on the upcoming ballot and which they’d like to see revised.”

On Feb. 18, the Charter Commission submitted 13 proposed charter amendments for the council’s consideration, including the following:

• Changing council elections from at-large elections to electing three councilmembers from each of three regions,
• Allowing council and board and commission meetings to be held via videoconference in accordance with state law.
• Creating the Department of ‘Ōiwi Resources and affirming the county will operate as a bilingual government by implementing opportunities to include the Hawaiian language.
• Setting the terms of the prosecuting attorney and corporation counsel at five years.
• Removing the cap on penalties for violations of law so they may be set by council by ordinance.

For more information on meeting information or how to watch or testify via video conference, phone or writing, visit http://mauicounty.us/.