The Maui Board of Ethics will not enforce a new rule that forces citizens to keep details about their pending ethics complaints confidential after considering public input this week, county officials confirmed Friday.
The reversal came after the board unanimously approved 44 new rule changes Wednesday, including a provision that some members of the public called a “gag order,” as Civil Beat reported.
That provision bound the complainant to a confidentiality requirement forbidding that person or citizens group from disclosing the pending complaint’s existence or sharing details of it publicly. If the ethics board or staff found that confidentiality was violated, they could use that as grounds to dismiss the complaint without further investigation.
“While the rules will expand the capabilities of the BOE, Chair Steve Sturdevant noted after the meeting that, given public testimony on Section 04-101-39(a) (regarding confidentiality of complaints), the newly added language in that section will not be enforced pending future discussion and potential consideration for revision by the BOE,” Lauren Akitake, the board’s executive director and legal counsel, said Friday in a statement. “He also clarified that complaints filed under the old rules will continue to proceed under those rules.”
Lauren Akitake, Maui Board of Ethics’ first executive director and legal counsel, discusses proposed rule changes during a Board of Ethics meeting Wednesday. (Screenshot/Maui County/2025)
Several residents testified against that particular rule change prior to the board’s vote. Bruce Douglas described it as a “gag order on citizens or citizen groups” to bring their complaint forward.
Maui lawyer Akitake joined the board in July as its first executive director, a position driven by voters last election through a charter amendment to give the board greater independence. The board also now has its own investigator and administrative assistant.
Most of the new rule changes are geared toward making the board operate more efficiently and impartially. The board’s new staff, for instance, will now vet all the ethics complaints and financial disclosures for county employees that come in, saving the board significant time by only sending those on that they deem questionable or find probable cause for action.
See all the rule changes below.
Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.
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