STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2959

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  H.B. No. 1984
                                        H.D. 1
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No.
1984, H.D. 1, entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill, as received by your Committee, is
to:

     (1)  Clarify candidate funding available from public funds
          for the office of the governor, lieutenant governor, or
          the mayor from 20 percent per election cycle to 10
          percent per election, and for state senator, state
          representative, county council, and prosecuting
          attorney from 30 percent to 15 percent of the total
          limit established;

     (2)  Remove the ballot issue from the requirements for the
          organizational report;

     (3)  Increase the deadline for filing an organizational
          report from five to ten days after filing for office;

     (4)  Require candidates who withdraw or cease to be
          candidates to return private contributions to their
          donors within four years; and


 
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     (5)  Provide that in the event of a candidate's death,
          residual contributions escheat to the Hawaii Election
          Campaign Fund.

     Your Committee finds that the proposed measure will
facilitate more efficient administration of campaign finance laws
while also ensuring strict compliance by those affected.  Your
Committee further finds that requiring candidates to eventually
run for office or repay their contributors will help prevent
abuse of the campaign contribution system.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
Campaign Spending Commission and Common Cause Hawaii.

     Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this
measure by:

     (1)  Inserting a provision cutting the current contribution
          limits in half;

     (2)  Inserting a provision clarifying that in a
          reapportionment year or whenever an election is being
          held for a shorter term than is usual for an office, it
          is the usual, longer term of office that determines the
          contribution limit for that office;

     (3)  Extending the time for candidates who withdraw or cease
          to be candidates to return donations from four to eight
          years;

     (4)  Amending the requirement that campaign funds escheat to
          the Hawaii Election Campaign Fund after a candidate's
          death, to allow the deceased candidate's committee to
          return funds to private donors within 60 days; and

     (5)  Deleting the remaining provisions.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No.
1984, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass
Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1984, H.D.
1, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.


 
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                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Judiciary,



                                   ______________________________
                                   AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair

 
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