REPORT TITLE: 
Campaign finance reform
DESCRIPTION:
Reduces the amount of money that a person can contribute to a
campaign during an election period.

 
HB HMIA 2000-54
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        1792
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                     A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:


 1      SECTION 1.  Section 11-204, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended to read:
 
 3      "§11-204  Campaign contributions; limits as to persons.(a)
 
 4 No person, political party, political committees established and
 
 5 maintained by a national political party, or any other entity
 
 6 shall make contributions to:
 
 7      (1)  A candidate seeking nomination or election to a two-
 
 8           year office or to the candidate's committee in an
 
 9           aggregate amount greater than [$2,000] $200 during an
 
10           election period; 
 
11      (2)  A candidate seeking nomination or election to a four-
 
12           year statewide office or to the candidate's committee
 
13           in an aggregate amount greater than [$6,000] $600
 
14           during an election period; and
 
15      (3)  A candidate seeking nomination or election to a four-
 
16           year nonstatewide office or to the candidate's
 
17           committee in an aggregate amount greater than [$4,000]
 
18           $400 during an election period. 
 
19      These limits shall not apply to a loan made to a candidate
 

 
HB HMIA 2000-54
Page 2                                                     1792
                                     H.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 by a financial institution in the ordinary course of business.
 
 2      (b)  No person or any other entity shall make contributions
 
 3 to a noncandidate committee, in an aggregate amount greater than
 
 4 $1,000 in an election; except that in the case of a corporation
 
 5 or company using funds from its own treasury, there shall be no
 
 6 limit on contributions or expenditures to the corporation or
 
 7 company noncandidate committee.
 
 8      (c)  A candidate in making a contribution to the candidate's
 
 9 campaign shall be exempt from the above limitation, but shall be
 
10 limited in the aggregate to [$50,000] $5,000 in any election
 
11 period.  The aggregate amount of [$50,000] $5,000 shall include
 
12 any loans made for campaign purposes to the candidate from the
 
13 candidate's immediate family.
 
14      (d)  A contribution by a dependent minor shall be reported
 
15 in the name of the minor but shall be counted against the
 
16 contribution of the minor's parent or guardian.
 
17      (e)  Any candidate or candidate's committee who receives in
 
18 the aggregate more than the applicable limits set forth in this
 
19 section in any primary, initial special, special, or general
 
20 election from a person, shall be required to transfer an amount
 
21 equal to any excess over the limits established in this section
 
22 to the Hawaii election campaign fund within thirty days of
 
23 receipt by a candidate or candidate's committee, and in any
 

 
HB HMIA 2000-54
Page 3                                                     1792
                                     H.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 event, no later than thirty days upon the receipt by a candidate
 
 2 or candidate's committee of notification from the commission.  A
 
 3 candidate or candidate's committee who complies with this
 
 4 subsection prior to the initiation of prosecution shall not be
 
 5 subject to any penalty under section 11-228.
 
 6      (f)  All payments made by a person or political party whose
 
 7 contributions or expenditure activity is financed, maintained, or
 
 8 controlled by any corporation, labor organization, association,
 
 9 political party, or any other person or committee, including any
 
10 parent, subsidiary, branch, division, department, or local unit
 
11 of the corporation, labor organization, association, political
 
12 party, political committees established and maintained by a
 
13 national political party, or any other person, or by any group of
 
14 those persons shall be considered to be made by a single person
 
15 or political party.
 
16      (g)  A contribution made by two or more corporations shall
 
17 be treated as one person when such corporations:
 
18      (1)  Share the majority of members of their boards of
 
19           directors;
 
20      (2)  Share two or more corporate officers;
 
21      (3)  Are owned or controlled by the same majority
 
22           shareholder or shareholders; or
 
23      (4)  Are in a parent-subsidiary relationship.
 

 
HB HMIA 2000-54
Page 4                                                     1792
                                     H.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      (h)  An individual and any general partnership in which the
 
 2 individual is a partner, or an individual and any corporation in
 
 3 which the individual owns a controlling interest, shall be
 
 4 treated as one person.
 
 5      (i)  No committee which supports or opposes a candidate for
 
 6 public office shall have as officers individuals who serve as
 
 7 officers on any other committee which supports or opposes the
 
 8 same candidate.  No such committee shall act in concert with, or
 
 9 solicit or make contributions on behalf of, any other committee.
 
10      (j)  No contributions may be made to a noncandidate
 
11 committee from a corporation or other organization unless the
 
12 noncandidate committee has been in existence continuously, as
 
13 shown on the records of the campaign spending commission, for at
 
14 least twelve months prior to the next primary election.
 
15      (k)  No contributions or expenditures shall be made to or on
 
16 behalf of a candidate or committee by a foreign corporation,
 
17 including a domestic subsidiary of a foreign corporation, a
 
18 domestic corporation that is owned by a foreign national, or a
 
19 local subsidiary where administrative control is retained by the
 
20 foreign corporation, and in the same manner prohibited under 2
 
21 United States Code section 441e and 11 Code of Federal
 
22 Regulations 110.4(a) and 110.9(a), as amended.  No foreign-owned
 
23 domestic corporation shall make contributions where:
 

 
HB HMIA 2000-54
Page 5                                                     1792
                                     H.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      (1)  Foreign national individuals participate in election-
 
 2           related activities such as decisions concerning the
 
 3           making of contributions or the administration of a
 
 4           political committee; or
 
 5      (2)  The contribution funds are not domestically-derived.
 
 6      (l)  No person or any other entity other than political
 
 7 committees established and maintained by a national party shall
 
 8 make contributions to a political party in an aggregate amount
 
 9 greater than $25,000 in any two-year election period.  No
 
10 political committee established and maintained by a national
 
11 political party, shall make contributions to a political party in
 
12 an aggregate amount greater than $50,000 in any two year election
 
13 period."
 
14      SECTION 2.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
15 New statutory material is underscored.
 
16      SECTION 3.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
17 
 
18 
 
19                         INTRODUCED BY:___________________________
 

 
HB HMIA 2000-54