Maui voters can vote on eight charter amendment questions in the November election. One tackles how the state motto should be listed in the Maui County Charter preamble, and another looks at making an exception on consecutive terms for the board of ethics.
HPR is breaking down the meaning of the charter amendments and explaining them in easy-to-understand terms. See below for the Maui County questions.
The general election is Nov. 3.
QUESTION 1: Shall the Charter be amended, effective January 2, 2027, to provide clarity and consistency in deadlines for planning commission review of revisions to the general plan, zoning ordinances, and other land use ordinances proposed by the council, and transmittal of related findings and recommendations to the council?
A “Yes” vote would make the deadline for a planning commission to submit findings and recommendations on land use ordinances and revisions to the General Plan consistent with the timeline for the County Council to adopt them. This means the Council could act on proposed revisions if a planning commission fails to submit or transmit its findings within the specified time.
A “Yes” vote would also create a deadline for the Planning Director to schedule public hearings on those proposed land use ordinances or revisions to the General Plan.
QUESTION 2: Shall the Charter be amended, effective January 1, 2027, to standardize the deadlines related to the clerk’s processing of petitions related to voter initiative, recall of elected officers or board or commission members, and charter amendments?
Vote “Yes” on this question to standardize to 45 days the length of time the county clerk has to review petitions for the creation of ballot measures to be placed before voters. And to increase the supplemental petition review period for these measures to 30 days.
QUESTION 3: Shall the Charter be amended, effective January 1, 2027, to establish a formula for computing Charter deadlines that excludes weekends and holidays?
Vote “Yes” on this question to ensure that deadlines within the Charter will not fall on a non-business day. This would create a formula to EXCLUDE the first day and INCLUDE the last day, unless that last day falls on a non-business day, like a weekend or holiday. In that case, the deadline would be extended until 4:30 p.m. on the next business day.
QUESTION 4: Shall the Charter be amended, effective January 1, 2028 to streamline the process for filing claims for personal injury or property damage by requiring that claims are filed directly with the Director of Finance or as provided by ordinance?
The Risk Management Division of the Department of the Corporation Counsel processes injury and property damage claims against the County, but the County Charter requires claims to be filed with the County Clerk first.
Vote "Yes" to this question and claims can be filed directly with Corporation Counsel instead of the County Clerk, removing an administrative step.
A Maui County Council committee said that approving the proposal would reduce the County Clerk’s administrative burden and “minimize interactions with distressed claimants.”
Supporters say the change would help simplify the claims process, but some testifiers note that the Corporation Counsel’s office is difficult to access for those with disabilities.
QUESTION 5: Shall the Charter be amended, effective upon passage, by removing the English translation of the Hawaiʻi State motto in the Maui County Charter Preamble, allowing the original phrase, “Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono,” to stand on its own?
Vote “Yes” to remove the English translation from the preamble and retain only the Hawaiian-language motto “Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono,” which means “The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.”
Otherwise, voting “No” keeps both the motto in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi and its English translation in the preamble.
QUESTION 6: Shall the Charter be amended, effective January 2, 2027, to allow the Mayor, with approval from the Council, to pass an emergency appropriation for an application for a line of credit and clarify that the one percent limitation for emergency appropriations does not apply to funds that have already been allocated to an emergency fund?
This is a proposed adjustment to language involving appropriations for emergencies. Voting yes on this question would clarify two points. In the resolution proposing this amendment, the Maui County Council noted there are emergencies that require “the County to respond quickly,” citing examples of the August 2023 Maui wildfires and the 2026 Kona Low storms.
Vote "Yes," and it would clarify that the funding would come as a line of credit, and not by “issuing emergency notes.” It would also specifically mention that while the emergency funds appropriated will not exceed 1% of the county’s total operating budget, any money already approved as emergency funding would not be subject to that limit.
QUESTION 7: Shall the Charter be amended, effective immediately, to repeal the parts of the 2022 Charter amendment that created the Independent Nomination Board and related procedures for nominations for various County officers?
The 2021-2022 Maui Charter Commission put 10 questions to Maui voters. One question asked voters to create an Independent Nomination Board to recruit, evaluate and nominate candidates for county boards and commissions, and the positions of Maui County auditor, the county clerk, corporation counsel and prosecuting attorney. The amendment passed.
But the 2026 Maui County Council's Government Relations, Ethics and Transparency Committee said the "procedures to govern these nominations and appointments have proven confusing and incomplete." The extra layer of review has also slowed the process to fill spots on boards and commissions, which are still facing vacancies.
Vote "Yes" to repeal the Independent Nomination Board and let the county go back to its old ways. The mayor would nominate people to boards and commissions as well as the corp counsel and prosecutor, while the council would appoint the clerk and auditor. It also repeals the need to post the openings in a newspaper, but it will conform to the state's public notice requirements. The mayor and council also get more time to nominate and appoint individuals to fill a vacancy.
QUESTION 8: Shall the Charter be amended, effective upon approval, to authorize the Mayor to reappoint members of the Board of Ethics of the County of Maui, with the approval of the Council, for one successive term without an intervening waiting period?
Members of county boards and commissions must wait at least two years after the expiration of their terms to be reappointed to the same position.
Vote "Yes" to make an exception for the Board of Ethics, allowing the mayor to reappoint members for one term immediately after their previous term expires.
The resolution notes that vacancies in the ethics board have prevented it from establishing quorum, and in turn “delays the Board’s consideration of ethics complaints, advisory opinions, and actions on issues of importance to the County and its employees.”
It also says that the board loses institutional knowledge because members have to leave after one term, which is up to three years long. The City and County of Honolulu’s Charter and state law allow members of boards and commissions to be reappointed without a waiting period.
The ethics board is made up of nine members appointed by the mayor and approved by the County Council. It conducts investigations and holds impeachment proceedings against elected officials, following violations of the County Charter.
