Committee on International and Legal Affairs Meeting – November 19, 2025
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Committee on International and Legal Affairs Meeting – November 19, 2025
The Committee on International and Legal Affairs met on November 19, 2025, to consider two resolutions and then conduct executive sessions to discuss settlement requests in several cases. The meeting included testimony from a department director, discussion of data‑driven decision‑making, and votes on all agenda items.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public testified on any agenda item. Oral testimony was accepted but none was offered, either in person or remotely.
Discussion Items
- Resolution 25‑293 – Reappointment of Sheldon Jim to the Ethics Commission
Commissioner Jim was present and offered to answer questions. A CD1 with technical amendments was introduced by the chair. No questions from members. The committee voted to amend the resolution to CD1 and then to report the CD1 out for adoption without objection. - Resolution 25‑281 – Acceptance of Gift of Travel for Director of Human Resources (Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative)
Director Nola Miyasaki of the Department of Human Resources testified in support. She explained that the gift covered travel costs for her to serve on an alumni panel at the Bloomberg Harvard program, which focuses on change management, data‑driven decision‑making, DEI, and talent management. Council Member Cordero asked about the event, and Director Miyasaki noted that a prior project to improve hiring rates for engineers had led to a supplemental union agreement creating a separate salary schedule for engineers, helping the city become more competitive. Council Member Waters asked about data‑driven decision‑making; Director Miyasaki described how the program emphasized using hard data over anecdotes and mentioned a vacancy dashboard being implemented. A CD1 with technical amendments was adopted, and the amended resolution was reported out for adoption without objection. - Executive Session Items
The committee convened into executive session, with no public testimony, to consult with attorneys on settlement requests in the following cases: (3) Certified Construction, (4) Diana Crockett, (5) Deborah Freeman, (6) Skycap, and (7) Sullivan Salon. After the closed session, the committee voted on each settlement request.
Key Outcomes
- Resolution 25‑293 (Ethics Commission reappointment) : Adopted without objection after CD1 amendment.
- Resolution 25‑281 (Travel gift acceptance) : Adopted without objection after CD1 amendment.
- Settlement – Certified Construction: Request for authorization to settle was reported out for adoption. No objection.
- Settlement – Diana Crockett: Request for authorization to settle was reported out for adoption. No objection.
- Settlement – Deborah Freeman: Request for authorization to settle was reported out for adoption. No objection.
- Settlement – Skycap: One council member voted yes but with reservations, stating that the city could not take the case to trial because the prosecuting attorney who charged the officers with murder (Steve Alm) was the star witness for Skycap, and that two prior attempts to prosecute had failed (one before a grand jury, one in a preliminary hearing). The motion was adopted.
- Settlement – Sullivan Salon: Request for authorization to settle was reported out for adoption. No objection.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, calling to order the committee on international and legal affairs, noting the presence of council members Toba Waters, Cordero, and Wire. Um we'll start with announcements pursuant to section 92-3.7 HRS. This meeting will be conducted as a remote meeting by interactive conference technology with the following procedures in effect for the meeting. Members of the public will be allowed to provide oral testimony on all items on the agenda in person in the council chamber and remotely when each agenda item is taken up. Both English and Hawaiian are official languages of the state of Hawaii, pursuant to Article 15, section four of the Hawaii State Constitution and Section 1-13 of the Hawaii revised statutes. Members of the public may testify in either language for oral testimonies offered in Olelo Hawaii. Additional time as may be necessary will be allowed for the testifiers to provide an English translation to their testimony. Before testifying, each person shall state their name. Each speaker may not have anyone else read their statement and is limited to a one-minute presentation on each item. Once in-person testimony is concluded, I will proceed to those who have registered to testify remotely by video conference. When your name is called, please monitor your screen and activate your audio feed when prompted. For those joining us by telephone only, press star nine to indicate your desire to speak. Some friendly reminders and tips. Video conference from a quiet location if possible. If you're also watching the proceedings on Olelo, please mute your television at the time you're called to testify. When the timer on screen reaches zero, please conclude your remarks promptly. Section eight section HRS section 92-317 requires all votes at remote meetings to be conducted by a roll call unless unanimous. Therefore, I will call for objections, and if there are any, I will call for a roll call vote. Written testimonies. Written testimonies, including the testifiers address, email address, phone number, will be available to the public as described on the posted agenda. Cell phones as a courtesy, please turn off your cell phones. Okay, moving to agenda item number one, confirming the reappointment of Sheldon Jim on to serve on the ethics commission. Commissioner Jim, would you like to make a statement? Hi. And I wanted to let you know that if you had any questions, that's why I'm here. Okay, sounds good. Members, any questions? Okay, uh moving to in-person testimony. We have anyone registered? Chair, there are none. Okay, moving to remote testimony. Anyone registered? Chair, there are none. Okay, oh sorry. Um, members, we have a posted CD one with technical amendments submitted by myself. So please note the CD1. Okay, uh anyone else wishing to testify who's in the audience and not registered or online who's not registered. Chair, there are none. Okay, members, any questions for the nominee? Okay, thank you. All right, members, chair recommends that resolution 25-9293 be reported out for adoption. Any WRs or no's okay, see none? Maybe post the CD. Okay. Sorry about that, members. We have to do the CD1 first. So chair recommends that resolution 25-293 be amended to the posted CD1 identified that we talked about. Any discussion? Okay, see none. Do I have to vote on the underlying bill again?
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