THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            115
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION
  REQUESTING A STUDY OF HAWAII'S ELECTION AND CAMPAIGN SPENDING
    LAWS.



 1        WHEREAS, the Hawaii laws relating to campaign finance and
 2   elections have become increasingly chaotic over the course of
 3   time, and being more complicated than strictly necessary with
 4   provisions that are sometimes redundant or seemingly
 5   contradictory; and
 6   
 7        WHEREAS, it is often necessary to look in several
 8   different places to determine the law on any particular point;
 9   and
10   
11        WHEREAS, for example, to determine the requirements for a
12   supplemental campaign spending report, it is necessary to look
13   in four different sections of the law - the general
14   requirements for filing of reports, the requirements for the
15   final primary report, the separate requirements pertaining to a
16   surplus or to a deficit, and additional provisions stating
17   additional requirements for a supplemental campaign spending
18   report; and
19   
20        WHEREAS, Hawaii's election and campaign spending laws have
21   become so confusing that even those agencies that work with
22   them on a daily basis sometimes find it difficult to determine
23   exactly what the laws provide on a particular point; and
24   
25        WHEREAS, it is unfair to expect Hawaii's citizens to be
26   informed about a body of law that is so convoluted that even
27   experts find it difficult to use; and
28   
29        WHEREAS, a recodification of these laws will make them
30   easier to understand for all who are affected by them, and will
31   simplify future substantive changes to the law; now, therefore,
32   
33        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
34   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, the House of
35   Representatives concurring, that the Legislative Reference
36   Bureau is requested to conduct a study of Hawaii laws governing
37   elections and campaign finance, and make recommendations for a
38   recodification of those laws;
39   

 
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                                  S.C.R. NO.            115
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference
 2   Bureau is requested to submit the study and its recommendations
 3   to the legislature twenty days prior to the convening of the
 4   2001 regular session; and
 5   
 6        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Concurrent
 7   Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Legislative
 8   Reference Bureau.
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12                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________
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