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A Maui County Council committee on Monday will discuss proposed charter amendments that will be placed on the 2022 general election ballot in November.
The Government Relations, Ethics and Transparency Committee will meet at 9 a.m. to discuss whether to provide comments or suggest alternatives to the amendments, Committee Chairperson Mike Molina announced Friday.
Every 10 years, the Charter Commission meets to review the Maui County Charter, which guides the operations of local government. On Feb. 18, after a year of review, the Charter Commission submitted 13 proposed charter amendments, including:
• Changing council elections from at-large elections to electing three council members 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 'Oiwi 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.
"I encourage community members to provide their insight on the proposed charter amendments, which have the potential to change the way we vote and the overall structure of county government," Molina said in a news release. "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."
For more information on the meeting, including links to watch or testify, visit mauicounty.us/agendas/.