State Rep. Rida Cabanilla publicly apologized to her colleagues yesterday for introducing a bill that could have helped her campaign treasurer get approval for a new nursing home in Waipahu.

"I now recognize that this action raises the perception of a conflict," said Cabanilla, D-42nd (Waipahu, Honouliuli, 'Ewa). "I sincerely apologize for introducing that bill that generated the appearance of a conflict," she said in remarks on the floor of the House of Representatives.

"I also apologize that this measure could have negatively affected the reputation of this body in the eyes of the public," she added.

"I pledge that I will act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence and integrity of the House."

House Democratic leaders had given Cabanilla the option to either apologize or have a special committee appointed to investigate whether she violated the House code of conduct. Cabanilla initially refused to apologize but then reconsidered in a private caucus after session on Tuesday afternoon.

State House Speaker Calvin Say, D-20th (St. Louis Heights, Palolo Valley, Wilhelmina Rise), accepted her apology yesterday on behalf of the House. "That was the punishment for her actions," the speaker said afterward.

Cabanilla introduced a bill that would have invalidated a Honolulu city ordinance that bars nursing homes from operating within 1,000 feet of another group home. Priscila Zampaga, her campaign treasurer, has been trying to open Mandalay by the Park, a new nursing home, near the Victory Ohana Prison Fellowship in Waipahu.

Cabanilla voted to advance the bill last Thursday out of the House Human Services and Housing Committee but then asked the committee on Monday to hold the bill because, she said, there were concerns about county home rule. She told The Advertiser Monday night that the reason she had the bill held was that some people in Waipahu had raised the prospect of a conflict of interest.

Cabanilla defended the concept behind the bill as a worthy attempt to improve access to elder care but acknowledged she should not have been the one to introduce it in the House given her relationship with Zampaga.

APOLOGY SUPPORTED

Over the past few days, Cabanilla has spoken to colleagues who supported the bill but did not know of her potential conflict.

State Rep. John Mizuno, D-30th (Kamehameha Heights, Kalihi Valley, Fort Shafter), a co-sponsor of the bill, said it was right for Cabanilla to apologize. "It was. If you make a mistake and then just try to gloss it over, it's only going to get bigger," he said.

In the private caucus on Tuesday, according to people familiar with the discussion, several Democrats said they thought it was an overreaction to appoint a special committee, with some concerned it might set a precedent for handling other claims about conflicts of interest and others worried it might imply that Cabanilla clearly had done something wrong.

Last session, Say rejected a request by House Republicans to appoint a special committee to investigate whether state Rep. Jerry Chang, D-2nd (S. Hilo), violated the House ethics code with his potential financial involvement in a deal for a new motorsports complex on O'ahu. Chang disclosed a potential conflict after questions were raised by The Advertiser and a bill that would have provided a $50 million tax credit to bring investors to a new racetrack was held back. House Republicans also asked the state Ethics Commission to investigate Chang.

But Cabanilla defused talk of a special committee Tuesday by agreeing to apologize on the House floor.

State ethics law prohibits lawmakers from using their offices to give or obtain unwarranted privileges. But work on bills, resolutions or other official duties is exempt. The conflict-of-interest rules in the law generally do not apply to lawmakers, but there are prohibitions against lawmakers taking money to help get bills passed or to get favorable state or county agency decisions.

The House code of conduct, part of the chamber's internal rules, states that lawmakers should not use the prestige of public office to advance the private interests of themselves or others. The House has the power to censure, suspend or expel lawmakers for improper behavior.

BOARD DISAGREEMENT

Some members of the Waipahu Neighborhood Board believed Cabanilla had a conflict after she appeared before the board in September on Zampaga's behalf. The board's minutes show that Cabanilla, a nurse and lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, identified herself as a future employee of the proposed nursing home, not as a state legislator. But Cabanilla said Monday night that the board had misunderstood her and that she has no plans to work at the nursing home.

House lawmakers often ask Say to rule on whether they have conflicts before voting on bills, usually because the subject matter relates to their private-sector jobs. Several lawmakers said Cabanilla might have avoided her situation by disclosing her connection with Zampaga and the nursing home before the committee voted on her bill last week.

"It has heightened the sensitivity," said state House Majority Leader Kirk Caldwell, D-24th (Manoa), who also said the House plans to move forward on a bill to create a new ethics committee. "If you have any questions about a conflict, disclose, disclose, disclose."

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.