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HRS §159-28

Bribing inspectors or state workers is a serious crime

This section makes it a crime to give money or anything valuable to a state inspector or other state worker to influence their official duties. It also makes it a crime for those workers to accept such gifts. The penalties include fines, prison time, and losing the job.

everyone

The statute, as written — Bribery

Any person or employee of any person, who shall give, pay, or offer, directly or indirectly, to any inspector, or any other officer or employee of the State authorized to perform any of the duties prescribed by this chapter or by the rules of the board, any money or other thing of value, with intent to influence the inspector, or other officer or employee of this State, in the discharge of any duty shall be guilty of a class C felony; provided the minimum sentence shall be a $5,000 fine and a three-year term of imprisonment. Any inspector, or other officer or employee of this State authorized to perform any of the duties prescribed by this chapter, who shall accept any money, gift, or other thing of value from any person, or officers, agents, or employees thereof, given with intent to influence the inspector's, officer's, or employee's official action, or who shall receive or accept from any person engaged in intrastate commerce subject to this chapter any gift, money, or other thing of value given with or without intent to influence the inspector's, officer's, or employee's official actions, shall be discharged from office and shall be guilty of a class C felony, provided the minimum fine shall be $1,000.
Read the official text at capitol.hawaii.gov ↗as published Jan 6, 2026our copy taken Aug 20, 2026

LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.