The state House of Representatives special committee looking into whether Rep. Sharon Har violated House standards of conduct with her 2021 arrest for driving under the influence of an intoxicant concluded its investigation without a recommendation for discipline by the chamber.

What You Need To Know

  • While members criticized Har’s conduct, they stopped short of stating that Har had violated House standards or recommending penalties

  • The investigation was initiated by petitions from Michael Golojuch Sr. and Carolyn Gologuch, who reside in Har’s District 42

  • Har was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of an intoxicant on Feb. 22, 2021, after she was caught driving in the wrong direction down Beretania Street

  • The committee’s report will be filed by next week with consideration by the full House to follow

The committee of six House members, chaired by Rep. Della Au Belatti, met Thursday to vote on a set of findings and recommendations. While members criticized Har’s conduct, they stopped short of stating that Har had violated House standards or recommending penalties. Instead, the committee will recommend that Har submit written notices about the status of her revoked driver’s license and conditions for its restoration.

The investigation was initiated by petitions from Michael Golojuch Sr. and Carolyn Gologuch, who reside in Har’s District 42, and focused on whether Har violated the House Code of Legislative Conduct with her decisions and actions on the night of her arrest. (The Golojuchs’ son Michael Jr. ran against Har in the District 42 race in 2014.)

Har was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of an intoxicant on Feb. 22, 2021, after she was caught driving in the wrong direction down Beretania Street.

Har declined to take breathalyzer or field sobriety tests.

In her newsletter to constituents, Har claimed that she had taken prescription medication containing codeine for a lingering upper-respiratory illness before going to Anyplace Lounge, where she said she drank a single beer with dinner. 

The misdemeanor drunken driving charge against Har was dropped based on a Dec. 10, 2021, Hawaii Supreme Court decision that criminal complaints must follow a procedural law requiring a signed affidavit or official declaration from the complaining party. Her case was one of more than 30 that were dismissed on the same basis following the Supreme Court ruling.

At the request of Har’s attorney Howard Luke, Judge Steven Hartley also acquitted Har of the drunken driving charge, ruling that there was insufficient evidence to convict her. 

The House special committee reviewed pre-trial and trial transcripts, documentary exhibits, police body-camera recordings and submittals from the petitioners.

The committee considered two specific rules contained in the House standards. Rule 62.1 requires members to conduct themselves in a respectful manner befitting their office, respecting and complying with the law and acting “in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity of the House.” Rule 62.2 prohibits members from lending “the prestige of public office” to advance the private interests of themselves or others” and conveying “the impression that they are in a special position to unduly influence public business pending before them.”

The latter rule was invoked in relation to reports that Har had referenced her position as a legislator when she was arrested. 

But as committee members Belatti and Rep. Amy Perruso noted during discussion of the evidence, there was nothing in the body-camera recordings or officer reports to substantiate the claim.

“I find that troubling in this world where things get blown out of proportion and things often get tried in the media, which is why we have this process,” Belatti said.

That left Rule 62.1 as the primary basis for considering Har’s actions and potential disciplinary consequences.

Perruso voiced concern about Har’s inconsistent statements about taking prescription medication prior to going to the lounge.

“When (Har) appeared before our body to apologize for the incident of that day, there was a claim made that her behavior was attributable to the ingestion of prescription medication,” Perruso said. “However, when we watched the body camera footage, at three different times, in response to three different officers’ questions phrased in different ways, the representative denied that she had taken any prescription medicine. If she was not truthful with officers, why not? If she was not truthful with us, why not? Wherein does the truth lie?”

Perruso also cited Har driving the wrong direction down Beretania, repeatedly asking officers about the location of her bag when her question had already been answered several times, and her invocation of “Black Lives Matter” as she was being arrested as indications of her impairment.

“Was she conducting herself in a manner that fits the office to which she was entrusted?” Perruso asked.

Committee member Rep. Scot Matayoshi noted that Har claimed the medication she took was old and had expired, which he interpreted as an admission that she took medication containing codeine that was not prescribed for her current illness before she consumed alcohol.

He also questioned why Har, who claimed to have had an upper respiratory illness and persistent cough for weeks before the incident, would go to a public establishment (that had a sign asking people not to enter if they had a cough) in the thick of the pandemic. 

“I believe representatives need to set a higher bar for standards of conduct, especially during a pandemic or crisis,” Matayoshi said. “The fact that she decided that, even though she had a cough for a couple of weeks, apparently undiagnosed because she wasn’t prescribed a medication, she decided to nevertheless go out into the community, into an indoor establishment (where) people of various bubbles eat and drink unmasked — that to me is a lapse of judgement that reflects badly on the House.”

After discussion, primarily between Belatti and Matayoshi, the committee settled on a set of findings that met its prescribed standard of “clear and convincing evidence.”

The findings affirm that Har took prescription medication that included codeine; drank alcohol despite the danger of interaction with the medication; visited a public place during an active pandemic knowing she was experiencing upper-respiratory symptoms; drove the wrong way down a one-way street; refused to take a breath- or field-sobriety test; had her license revoked for two years and will be required to have an ignition-interlock device installed in her car for two years; and will be subject to certain requirements to obtain a new license.

The committee also agreed with Belatti’s recommendation, calling for Har to inform the House in writing about the conditions she must comply with regarding her license revocation and a written update when she has met the terms of compliance to obtain a new or renewed license. 

Matayoshi voted to support the recommendations but noted his reservations that while Har had apologized for taking the medication and drinking, she has not apologized for driving the wrong way down Beretania or visiting Anyplace Lounge while she was sick.

The committee’s report will be filed by next week with consideration by the full House to follow.

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii.