Amends the elections law to provide for fairness in judicial campaigns.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that should it enact a law requiring judicial retention elections, those elections should be regulated to prevent fraud and to maintain the ethical standards judges must uphold. The purpose of this Act is to adopt a judicial campaign fairness law.

SECTION 2. Chapter 11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new part to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"PART . JUDICIAL CAMPAIGN FAIRNESS ACT

§11-A Registration. (a) Each judicial candidate, committee, or party shall file an organizational report as set forth in section 11-C, as applicable, within ten days from the date a candidate or candidate committee receives any contributions or makes any expenditures, the aggregate amount of which is more than $100, or, within ten days from the date a noncandidate committee receives any contributions or makes any expenditures, the aggregate amount of which is more than $1,000.

(b) Committees that form within ten days of an election and expend in the aggregate more than $1,000 shall register and fully disclose the expenditure by 4:30 p.m. of the last calendar day prior to the expenditure.

(c) Each candidate shall re-register for the new election period. A noncandidate committee need not re-register for a new election period.

§11-B Filing of reports, generally. (a) All reports required to be filed under this part by a candidate or those committees directly associated with the candidate's candidacy shall be certified by the candidate. Reports required to be filed under this part by a party or committee that supports more than one candidate shall be certified by a person authorized to sign the reports. All reports required to be filed under this part shall be open for public inspection in the office of the commission.

(b) The original and one copy of all reports required under this part shall be filed at the office of the commission. In the case of counties having less than two hundred thousand voters, the filing shall be accomplished by filing an original and two copies of the required report with either the commission or the clerk of the county in which the candidate resides. The clerk shall then immediately mail the original and one copy of the report to the commission.

(c) The commission or county clerk shall give each person filing a report a receipt stating the type of report filed and the date and time of filing.

(d) All reports filed with the county clerk's office shall be preserved by that office for ten years.

(e) All reports required to be filed under this part shall at all times be available to the general public.

(f) For purposes of this part, whenever a report is required to be filed with the commission, "filed" means received in the office of the commission or county clerk, whichever is applicable, by the date and time specified for the filing of the report; except that a candidate or the committee of a candidate who is seeking election to the judiciary shall file by electronic means in the manner prescribed by the commission.

§11-C Organizational report, candidate's committee. (a) The organizational report shall include:

(b) Any change in information submitted in the organizational report with the exception of subsection (a)(6) shall be reported no later than 4:30 p.m. on the tenth calendar day after such change is brought to the attention of the candidate, committee, party, or campaign treasurer.

§11-D Designated central committee. Each candidate for a who is supported by more than one committee shall designate a central committee which shall be responsible for aggregating the total contributions and expenditures of all committees directly associated with the candidate and for filing composite reports indicating this information pursuant to sections 11-Q and 11-R.

§11-E Campaign treasurer. (a) Every committee, party, and candidate shall appoint a campaign treasurer on or before the day for filing an organizational report. Up to five deputy campaign treasurers may be appointed. A candidate may appoint oneself as campaign treasurer.

(b) A campaign treasurer may be removed at any time. In case of death, resignation, or removal of the campaign treasurer, the committee, party, or candidate shall promptly appoint a successor. During the period the office of campaign treasurer is vacant, the candidate, committee chairperson, or party chairperson, whichever is applicable, shall serve as campaign treasurer.

(c) Only the campaign treasurer and deputy campaign treasurers shall be authorized to receive contributions or make expenditures on behalf of the appointing candidate, committee, or party.

(d) A candidate may appoint on a fee or voluntary basis a person other than an officer or treasurer to specifically prepare and file reports with the campaign spending commission.

§11-F Campaign contributions, generally. (a) All monetary contributions shall be promptly deposited in a depository institution, as defined by section 412:1-109, duly authorized to do business in the State, such as a bank, savings bank, savings and loan association, depository financial services loan company, credit union, intra-Pacific bank, or similar financial institution, the deposits or accounts of which are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or the national credit union administration in the name of the candidate, committee, or party, whichever is applicable.

(b) Each candidate, committee, or party shall establish and maintain an itemized record showing the amount of each monetary contribution, the description and value of each nonmonetary contribution, and the name and address of each donor making a contribution of more than $25 in value.

(c) Each candidate and campaign treasurer shall report the amount and date of deposit of each contribution and the name and address of each donor who makes a contribution whose aggregate value is more than $100.

(d) No candidate, committee, or party shall accept a contribution of more than $100 in cash from a single person without issuing a receipt to the donor and keeping a record of the transaction.

(e) Each committee and party shall disclose the original source of all earmarked funds, the ultimate recipient of the earmarked funds, and the fact that the funds are earmarked.

§11-G Campaign contributions; restrictions against transfer. (a) A candidate, campaign treasurer, or candidate's committee shall not receive any contributions or receive or make any transfer of money or anything of value:

(b) This section shall not be construed to prohibit a party from supporting more than one candidate.

(c) This section shall not be construed to prohibit a candidate from making contributions to the candidate's party so long as that contribution is not earmarked for another candidate.

§11-H Anonymous contributions; unlawful. (a) No person shall make an anonymous contribution of the person's own money or property, or money of another person, to any candidate, party, or committee in connection with a nomination for election, or election. No candidate, party, or committee shall knowingly receive, accept, or retain an anonymous contribution, or enter or cause such contribution to be entered in its accounts as an anonymous contribution or in a name other than the true name of the person who actually furnished the contribution.

(b) No anonymous contribution received by a candidate, party, or committee shall be used or expended, but shall be returned to the donor. If the donor cannot be identified, the contribution shall escheat to the Hawaii election campaign fund.

(c) This section shall not apply to amounts that aggregate less than $500 when obtained through multiple contributions made by ten or more persons at the same political function. Each such aggregate contribution shall be reported accompanied by a description of the means, method, place, and date of receipt.

§11-I False name. No person shall make a contribution of the person's own money or property, or money or property of another person to any candidate, party, or committee in connection with a nomination for election, or election, in any name other than the true name of the person who owns the money or who supplied the money or property.

All contributions made in the name of a person other than the true or established name of the actual owner of the money or property shall escheat to the Hawaii election campaign fund.

§11-J Campaign contributions; limits as to persons. (a) No person or any other entity shall make contributions to a candidate seeking election or to the candidate's committee in an aggregate amount greater than $2,000 during an election period. This limit shall not apply to a loan made to a candidate by a financial institution in the ordinary course of business.

(b) No person or any other entity shall make contributions to a noncandidate committee, in an aggregate amount greater than $1,000 in an election; except that in the case of a corporation or company using funds from its own treasury, there shall be no limit on contributions or expenditures to the corporation or company noncandidate committee.

(c) A candidate in making a contribution to the candidate's campaign shall be exempt from the limitations in subsections (a) and (b), but shall be limited in the aggregate to $50,000 in any election period. The aggregate amount of $50,000 shall include any loans made for campaign purposes to the candidate from the candidate's immediate family.

(d) A contribution by a dependent minor shall be reported in the name of the minor but shall be counted against the contribution of the minor's parent or guardian.

(e) Any candidate or candidate's committee who receives in the aggregate more than the applicable limits set forth in this section in any election from a person, shall be required to transfer an amount equal to any excess over the limits established in this section to the Hawaii election campaign fund within thirty days of receipt by a candidate or candidate's committee, and in any event, no later than thirty days upon the receipt by a candidate or candidate's committee of notification from the commission. A candidate or candidate's committee who complies with this subsection prior to the initiation of prosecution shall not be subject to any penalty under section 11-FF.

(f) All payments made by a person whose contributions or expenditure activity is financed, maintained, or controlled by any corporation, labor organization, association, political party, or any other person or committee, including any parent, subsidiary, branch, division, department, or local unit of the corporation, labor organization, association, political party, or any other person, or by any group of those persons shall be considered to be made by a single person.

(g) A contribution made by two or more corporations shall be treated as one person when such corporations:

(h) An individual and any general partnership in which the individual is a partner, or an individual and any corporation in which the individual owns a controlling interest, shall be treated as one person.

(i) No committee which supports or opposes a candidate for public office shall have as officers individuals who serve as officers on any other committee which supports or opposes the same candidate. No such committee shall act in concert with, or solicit or make contributions on behalf of, any other committee.

(j) No contributions may be made to a noncandidate committee from a corporation or other organization unless the noncandidate committee has been in existence continuously, as shown on the records of the campaign spending commission, for at least twelve months prior to the next primary election.

(k) No contributions or expenditures shall be made to or on behalf of a candidate or committee by a foreign corporation, including a domestic subsidiary of a foreign corporation, a domestic corporation that is owned by a foreign national, or a local subsidiary where administrative control is retained by the foreign corporation, and in the same manner prohibited under 2 United States Code section 441e and 11 Code of Federal Regulations 110.4(a) and 110.9(a), as amended. No foreign-owned domestic corporation shall make contributions where:

(l) No person or any other entity shall make contributions to a political party in an aggregate amount greater than $50,000 in any election period.

§11-K Campaign contributions; limits as to political parties. (a) No political party shall make contributions to a candidate in any calendar year in an aggregate amount greater than $20,000 for each respective office.

(b) For the purposes of this section, a contribution to a political party which is earmarked for a particular candidate or candidates shall be promptly distributed to such candidate and shall be reported by the candidate upon receipt as an individual contribution. Earmarked funds contributed pursuant to this section shall be counted:

§11-L Campaign contributions; loans. (a) Any loan to a candidate or candidate's committee in excess of $100 shall be documented and disclosed as to lender including the lender's name, address, employer, and occupation and purpose of the loan in the subsequent report to the commission. A copy of the executed loan document shall accompany the report. The document shall contain the relevant repayment obligations under this section. Failure to document the loan or to disclose the loan to the commission shall cause the loan to be treated as a campaign contribution, subject to all relevant provisions of this chapter.

(b) A candidate or candidate's committee may receive and accept loans in an aggregate amount not to exceed $10,000 during an election period, provided that if the $10,000 limit is reached, the candidate or candidate's committee shall be prohibited from receiving or accepting any other loans until the $10,000 is repaid in full by the candidate or candidate's committee.

(c) If any loan made to a candidate is not repaid within one year of the date that the loan is made, the candidate and candidate's committee shall be prohibited from accepting any other loans, and all subsequent contributions received and any surplus retained shall only be expended toward the repayment of the outstanding loan, until the loan is repaid in full by the candidate or candidates committee.

(d) No loan may be accepted or made by noncandidate committees.

(e) Any loan by a financial institution regulated by the State or a federally chartered depository institution and made in accordance with applicable law in the ordinary course of business, or a loan by a candidate of the candidate's own funds, or a loan from immediate family members of a candidate using their own funds to the candidate's committee shall not be deemed a contribution and not subject to the contribution limits provided in section 11-J or the loan limit and repayment provisions of subsection (b) and (c); provided that loans from the immediate family members of the candidate shall remain subject to the provisions in section 11-J(c).

§11-M Campaign contributions; restrictions as to surplus. (a) Every candidate in an election who has voluntarily agreed to abide by spending limits and who subsequently receives campaign contributions in an amount greater than the expenditure limit set for the candidate's respective office shall reserve use of these contributions until after an election.

(b) Campaign contributions shall not be used for personal expenses or to qualify for public funding in any subsequent election, and shall not be transferred to another candidate as prohibited in section 11-G.

Where such contributions are used for the purchase or lease of consumer goods, vehicles, equipment, and services that provide a mixed benefit to the candidate, they shall be reported to the commission pursuant to sections 11-Q and 11-R.

(c) Those contributions may be used after a general or special election for any fundraising activity, for any other politically related activity sponsored by the candidate, for any ordinary and necessary expenses incurred in connection with the candidate's duties as a holder of an elected state or county office, or for any contribution to any community service, educational, youth, recreational, charitable, scientific, or literary organization, or any other organization which the commission, by rules adopted pursuant to chapter 91, deems appropriate.

(d) All contributions collected pursuant to this section shall be reportable under section 11-R.

§11-N Other contributions and expenditures. (a) Expenditures made by any person or political party for the benefit of a candidate in cooperation, consultation, or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, a candidate, a candidate's political committee, or their agents, shall be considered to be a contribution to that candidate.

The financing by any person or political party of the dissemination, distribution, or republication, in whole or in part, of any broadcast or any written or other campaign materials prepared by the candidate, the candidate's political committee or committees, or agents shall be considered to be a contribution to that candidate.

(b) No funds shall be withdrawn or paid from a campaign depository except upon the written authorization of the campaign treasurer.

(c) No expenditure for a candidate shall be made or incurred by any committee controlled by a candidate without specific written authorization of the candidate or the candidate's authorized representative. Every expenditure so authorized and made or incurred shall be attributed to the candidate with whom the committee is directly associated for the purpose of imposing the expenditure limitations set forth in section 11-P.

(d) For the purposes of this part, an expenditure shall be deemed to be made or incurred when the services are rendered or the product is delivered. Services rendered or products delivered for use during a reporting period covered by this part shall be deemed delivered or rendered during the period or periods of use; provided that these expenditures shall be reasonably allocated between periods in accordance with the time the services or products are actually used.

§11-O Voluntary campaign expenditure limitation. (a) Any candidate may voluntarily agree to limit the candidate's campaign expenditures and those of the candidate's committee or committees and the candidate's party in the candidate's behalf by filing an affidavit with the campaign spending commission; provided that a candidate may withdraw the candidate's affidavit no later than thirty days prior to a primary election. Any candidate withdrawing the candidate's affidavit shall notify all contributors during the election period, in writing, that contributions are not tax deductible.

(b) The affidavit shall state that the candidate knows the voluntary campaign expenditure limitations as set out in section 11-P and that the candidate is voluntarily agreeing to limit the candidate's expenditures and those made on the candidate's behalf by the amount set by law. The affidavit shall be subscribed to by the candidate and notarized.

(c) Affidavits in compliance with this section shall be filed by January 31 of the year of any election, or on the date set for filing the candidate's organizational report as provided in section 11-C, whichever is later.

§11-P Campaign expenditures; limits as to amounts. (a) From January 1 of the year of any election, the total expenditures for candidates who voluntarily agree to limit their campaign expenditures for each election, inclusive of all expenditures made or authorized by the candidate alone and all campaign treasurers and committees in the candidate's behalf, shall not exceed $1.40 multiplied by the number of voters in the last preceding general election registered to vote in each respective voting district.

(b) A candidate or committee who has voluntarily agreed to the expenditure limits in this section and who exceeds their respective expenditure limits shall pay the full filing fee and shall notify all opponents, the chief election officer, all contributors, and the commission by telephone and in writing the day the expenditure limits are exceeded. Notification to contributors shall include an announcement that tax deductions based on their contributions are no longer available.

§11-Q Preliminary reports. (a) Each candidate, authorized person in the case of a party, or campaign treasurer in the case of a candidate committee, shall file a preliminary report with the commission or appropriate county clerk's office, on forms provided by the commission no later than 4:30 p.m. on the twenty- fifth and tenth calendar day prior to each election. Each report shall be certified pursuant to section 11-B and shall contain the following information which shall be current through the fifth calendar day prior to the filing of a preliminary report:

(b) Each noncandidate committee shall file a preliminary report with the commission, on forms provided by the commission, no later than 4:30 p.m. on the tenth calendar day prior to each election. Each report shall be certified pursuant to section 11-B and shall contain the following information, which shall be current through the fifth calendar day prior to the filing of a preliminary report:

(c) A candidate, party, or committee whose aggregate contributions or expenditures for the reporting period total $2,000 or less may file a short form report with the commission or appropriate county clerk's office in lieu of the reports required by this section and section 11-R.

(d) Notwithstanding this section and section 11-R, a candidate, party, or committee whose aggregate contributions or expenditures for the election period total $1,000 or less need not file a preliminary and final primary report, a preliminary and final general report, or a special election report, but shall file only a final election period report.

§11-R Final and supplemental reports. (a) Primary and initial special election. Each candidate whether or not successful in a primary or initial special election, authorized person in the case of a party, or campaign treasurer in the case of a committee, shall file a final primary report certified pursuant to section 11-B with the commission on forms provided by the commission no later than 4:30 p.m. on the twentieth calendar day after an election. The report shall include the following information which shall be current through the day of the election:

(b) Each noncandidate committee shall file a final primary report, certified pursuant to section 11-B, with the commission on forms provided by the commission no later than 4:30 p.m. on the twentieth calendar day after a primary election. The report shall include the following information, which shall be current through the day of the primary election:

(c) Each candidate, authorized person in the case of a party, or campaign treasurer in the case of a committee shall file a final election period general report with the commission on forms provided by the commission no later than 4:30 p.m. on the thirtieth calendar day after a general, special general, or special election. The final election period report shall be certified pursuant to section 11-B, shall report all items prescribed in subsection (a) or (b) for noncandidate committees, and shall be current through the day of the general election. A candidate who is unsuccessful in a primary or special primary election shall file a final election period report.

(d) Termination. A candidate, party, or committee may terminate registration with the commission with no surplus or no deficit. A termination report approved by the commission shall include information on the disposition of any funds, which has not previously been reported.

(e) Deficit. In the event of a deficit the candidate, authorized person in the case of a party, or campaign treasurer in the case of a committee shall, every six months until the deficit is eliminated, file supplemental reports covering all items prescribed in subsection (a) or subsection (b) in the case of noncandidate committees. The first report shall be due no later than 4:30 p.m. on the thirtieth day after the last day of the election year.

(f) Surplus. In the event of a surplus the candidate, authorized person in the case of a party, or campaign treasurer in the case of a committee, shall:

The first report shall be due not later than 4:30 p.m. on the thirtieth calendar day after the last day of the election year.

(g) Short form reporting. A candidate, party, or committee who receives no contributions, makes no expenditures, and has a deficit or surplus of $2,000 or less in any prescribed reporting period shall nevertheless file preliminary, final, and supplemental reports on the respective dates pursuant to this part. The reports may be filed on a short form as provided by the commission.

(h) All supplemental reports required by this section shall be filed until a candidate files to be on the ballot with the state elections office. Each party or noncandidate committee shall file a supplemental report for the respective reporting period during a nonelection year. In an election year, each party and noncandidate committee shall file reports as prescribed in this section and section 11-Q for the election.

§11-S Disposition of funds. (a) All candidates who withdraw or cease to be candidates, or committees directly associated with such candidates, individuals who receive contributions but fail to file for nomination, or committees or parties which discontinue their activities covered in this part, shall return all residual private contributions to the donors of such contributions if their identities are known, provided that if the identity of any donor is not known, or the donor cannot be found, such contribution shall escheat to the Hawaii election campaign fund.

(b) All residual public funds shall be returned to the Hawaii election campaign fund.

(c) Upon disposition of all residual funds, the candidate or campaign treasurer shall file a report with the commission, reporting the amounts distributed under this section and the manner of disposition.

(d) This section shall not apply to:

§11-T Advertising. (a) To the extent authorized by law, all advertisements authorized by a candidate or a candidate's committee shall contain the name and address of the candidate, committee, or party paying for the advertisement. If an advertisement is not authorized by a candidate or a candidate's committee, the advertisement shall contain the name and address of the person paying for the advertisement.

(b) In addition to subsection (a), and to the extent authorized by law, no person shall cause or submit any advertisement in support of a candidate or against a candidate's opponent, to be published, broadcast, televised, or otherwise circulated and distributed except under the following conditions:

(c) The penalty for violating this section shall be a fine not to exceed $25 for each advertisement that lacks the required disclaimer and no more than $5,000 aggregate.

§11-U Complaints, investigation, and notice; determination. (a) Complaints of violations of this part against any person shall be filed with the commission. The complaint shall be in writing and shall be signed under oath by the complainant. Complaints initiated by the commission shall be in writing and signed by the executive director.

(b) The commission shall give notice of receipt of the complaint together with a copy of the complaint to the person cited and shall afford the person an opportunity to explain or otherwise respond to the complaint at a meeting promptly noticed by the commission and conducted under chapter 92. The commission shall promptly determine, without regard to chapter 91, to summarily dismiss the complaint, cause further investigation, make a preliminary determination, or refer the complaint to an appropriate prosecuting authority for prosecution under section 11-GG.

(c) Upon hearing the response of the person cited, if the person elects to respond to the complaint, and upon completion of any investigation, the commission may make a prompt preliminary determination as to whether probable cause exists that a violation of this part has been committed. In lieu of an administrative determination that a violation of this section has been committed, the commission may refer the complaint to the attorney general or county prosecutor pursuant to section 11-GG at any time it believes that the person cited may have intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly committed a violation.

(d) If the commission makes a preliminary determination that there is probable cause to believe that a violation of this part has been committed, its preliminary determination with findings of fact and conclusions of law shall be served upon the person cited by certified mail. The person shall be afforded an opportunity to contest the commission's preliminary determination of probable cause by making a request for a contested hearing under chapter 91 within twenty days of receipt of the preliminary determination. Failure to request a contested hearing will result in the commission's preliminary determination being deemed a final determination of violation.

(e) In the event the commission makes a final determination that a violation of this part does not exist, the complaint shall be dismissed.

(f) If the commission renders a final determination of violation, its written decision with findings of fact and conclusions of law may also provide, without limitation the following orders:

(g) The commission may waive further proceedings because of action the person cited or respondent takes to remedy or correct the alleged violation, including the payment of any administrative fine. The commission shall make the remedial or corrective action taken by the respondent, the commission's decision in light of the action to waive further proceedings, and the commission's justification for its decision, a part of the public record.

§11-V Candidate public funding; amounts available. Candidates may avail themselves of the Hawaii election campaign fund, 11-217. The maximum amount of public funds available to a candidate in any election year shall not exceed one-fifth or twenty per cent of the total expenditure limit established for each office above pursuant to section 11-P.

§11-W Qualifying campaign contributions; amounts. As a condition of receiving public funds for a primary, special primary, or general election, a candidate shall have filed an affidavit with the commission pursuant to section 11-O to voluntarily limit the candidate's campaign expenditures and shall be in receipt of $500 of qualifying campaign contributions for the candidate's respective office for each election.

§11-X Eligibility for payments. (a) To be eligible to receive payments under section 11-217, a candidate shall in writing:

(b) To be eligible to receive payments pursuant to section 11-217, a candidate shall certify to the commission that:

(c) Each candidate and all committees authorized by such candidate in receipt of qualifying campaign contributions which may be taken into account for purposes of public funding shall maintain, on a form prescribed by the commission, records which show the date and amount of each such contribution and the full name and mailing address of the person making the contribution. The candidate and all committees authorized by the candidate shall transmit to the commission all reports with respect to such contributions which the commission may require.

§11-Y Entitlement to payments. Every candidate who is eligible to receive public funds pursuant to section 11-Z is entitled to payments pursuant to section 11-217 in an amount equal to each qualifying contribution received by that candidate or candidate committee during the matching payment period involved. A qualifying contribution shall be attributed to a primary, special or general election.

A candidate eligible to receive public funds must obtain a minimum amount of qualifying campaign contributions as set forth in section 11-W in order to be entitled to receive any matching public funds in an election. For the purpose of this section, a candidate must have at least one other qualified candidate as an opponent for the election to receive public funds for that election.

§11-Z Candidate funding; application. (a) Application forms for public funds shall be adopted by the commission and shall provide for a sworn statement by the candidate that the candidate has established eligibility to receive payments under section 11-217. Each application shall be accompanied by a qualifying campaign contribution statement or statements, and shall be filed with the commission no later than sixty days after the general election. Upon approval by the commission of the application and qualifying contribution statement, the commission shall direct the comptroller to distribute matching public funds up to the maximum of the amount of public funds to which the candidate is entitled.

Public funds shall be distributed by the comptroller to each eligible candidate within ten days from the date of the candidate's initial application with the commission.

(b) Each candidate in receipt of the qualifying sum of contributions established for the candidate's office may apply to the commission for public funding after the candidate has become a candidate in a primary, special primary, special, or general election.

(c) The commission shall make additional certifications within two weeks after receiving an application and supplemental contribution statement from an eligible candidate who requests additional public funding pursuant to section 11-Y.

(d) Initial certification by the commission under subsection (a) and all determinations made by the commission under this section are final and conclusive, except to the extent they are subject to examination and audit by the commission under section 11-CC.

§11-AA Candidate funding; restrictions. (a) Each candidate who accepts public campaign funds under this part shall be required to abide by the campaign spending limits for the candidate's respective office as set forth in section 11-P. Any candidate who exceeds the spending limits for the candidate's respective office as set forth in section 11-P shall return all of the public campaign funds the candidate has received to the Hawaii election campaign fund; provided that any candidate who exceeds the limits by no more than one per cent shall return twenty-five per cent of the fund.

(b) Public campaign funds provided under this part shall only be used to:

(c) In no event shall any candidate or campaign treasurer in receipt of public campaign funds transfer any portion of such funds to another candidate for any primary, special primary, special, or general election campaign.

(d) All public funds received under this part shall be deposited in a financial institution designated to do business in the State. No expenditures of any public funds received under this part shall be made except by checks drawn on such checking account. The commission may require such reports relating to the expenditure of such funds as it considers appropriate.

(e) Upon the filing of a final report for any primary, special primary, special, or general election, each candidate who has spent an amount below the expenditure limit set for the candidate's respective office, but who has received the maximum amount of public funds allowable for the candidate's respective office, shall return all unexpended public funds to the Hawaii election campaign fund.

§11-BB Public funds; report required; return of funds. The campaign treasurer of the candidate shall produce evidence to the commission no later than twenty days after a primary or special primary election; and no later than thirty days after a special or general election that all public funds paid to the candidate have been utilized as required by this part.

Should the commission determine that any part of the public funds have been used for noncampaign or improper expenses, it shall report such finding to the attorney general and shall order the candidate to return all or part of the total funds paid to that candidate for a primary, special primary, special, or general election. When such funds are returned, they shall be deposited in the Hawaii election campaign fund.

§11-CC Public funds; examination and audit; payments. (a) Within sixty days after each general election, the commission shall conduct an examination and audit of all public funds received by the candidate and of the campaign contributions used for purposes of qualifying for public funding under this part and the campaign expenses incurred by all candidates who received payments pursuant to section 11-217.

(b) The campaign spending commission shall issue, prior to the payment of any public money, rules which detail which expenses and evidence thereof qualify as acceptable campaign expenses for purposes of this section.

(c) Should the commission determine that any payment of public funds made to an eligible candidate pursuant to section 11-Y was in excess of the aggregate amount of payments to which such candidate was entitled, the commission shall notify such candidate and such candidate shall pay to the Hawaii election campaign fund a sum equal to the amount of excess payment.

(d) If the commission determines that any amount of any public funds made to a candidate under section 11-217 was used for any improper purpose, the commission shall so notify the candidate, and the candidate shall pay to the fund an amount equal to three hundred per cent of such amount.

(e) Any candidate who has received public funds under section 11-217 and who is convicted of violating any provision of this part shall, upon notification by the commission, pay to the Hawaii election campaign fund the full amount of public funds received by such candidate.

(f) No notification shall be made by the commission under subsection (c) with respect to the payment of excess public funds more than two years after the payment of such funds.

§11-DD Tax deductions. (a) As a condition of allowing an individual to take a tax deduction for campaign contributions to a candidate pursuant to section 235-7(g)(2), a candidate shall have filed an affidavit with the commission prior to or simultaneous with the filing of the candidate's organizational report stating that the candidate shall not exceed the expenditure limit for the candidate's respective office as set forth in section 11-P.

(b) The affidavit shall remain effective until the termination of the central committee of the candidate or the opening of filing for the next succeeding election for the office held or sought at the time of filing of the affidavit whichever occurs first. An affidavit filed under this section may not be rescinded.

(c) The director of taxation shall not allow any individual or married couple filing jointly to take a deduction against any tax due, pursuant to section 235-7(g)(2), for any contribution to a candidate for statewide or county office, who has not filed an affidavit as provided in this section.

(d) The commission shall forward a certified copy of any affidavit filed under this section to the director of taxation.

(e) The director of taxation shall only allow an individual or married couple filing jointly to take an income tax deduction, pursuant to section 235-7(g)(2), for any contribution to a candidate for a statewide or county office, if a receipt is attached to the state income tax return. Canceled checks or copies of the same shall be considered adequate receipt forms.

(f) If a candidate has not filed an affidavit pursuant to this section, the candidate shall inform all contributors to the candidate's campaign in writing immediately upon receipt of the contribution that they are not entitled to count their contributions to the candidate for purposes of taking a tax deduction under this section.

§11-EE Public notices. (a) Forty-five days before each primary, special primary, special, or general election, and at such other times as may be appropriate, the commission may give public notices to communicate to the public the following:

(b) In giving public notice under this section, the commission shall endeavor to bring fair public light to the incident or violation involved.

§11-FF Administrative fines; relief. (a) In the performance of its required duties, the commission may render a decision or issue an order affecting any person violating any provision of this part other than 11-T, that shall provide for the assessment of an administrative fine in the manner prescribed as follows:

(b) Any order for the assessment of an administrative fine may not be issued against a person without providing the person written notice and an opportunity to be heard at a hearing conducted under chapter 91. A person may waive these rights by written stipulation or consent. If an administrative fine is imposed upon a candidate, the commission may order that the fine, or any portion, be paid from the candidate's personal funds.

(c) If an order issued by the commission is not complied with by the person to whom it is directed, the first circuit court, upon application of the commission, shall issue an order requiring the person to comply with the commission's order. Failure to obey such a court order shall be punished as contempt.

(d) Any administrative fine collected by the commission shall be deposited in the Hawaii election campaign fund.

(e) Any person or the commission may sue for injunctive relief to compel compliance with this part.

(f) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to prohibit prosecution under any appropriate provision of the Hawaii Penal Code or section 11-GG.

§11-GG Criminal prosecution. (a) Any individual who knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly violates any provision of this part, other than section 11-T, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. A person who is convicted under this section shall be disqualified from holding elective public office for a period of four years from the date of conviction.

(b) For purposes of prosecution for violation of this part, the offices of the attorney general and the prosecuting attorney of the respective counties shall be deemed to have concurrent jurisdiction to be exercised as follows:

In the commission's choice of prosecuting agency, it shall be guided by whether there will be any conflicting interest between the agency and its appointive authority.

(c) The court shall give priority to the expeditious processing of suits under this section.

(d) Prosecution for violation of any provision of this part shall not be commenced after five years have elapsed from the date of the violation or date of filing of the report covering the period in which the violation occurred, whichever is later.

§11-HH Definitions. When used in this part:

"Advertisement" means:

"Campaign treasurer" means a person appointed under section 11-198, and, unless expressly indicated otherwise, includes deputy campaign treasurers.

"Candidate" means an individual who seeks nomination for election, or seeks election, to judicial office. Until an individual terminates the individual's candidacy with the commission, an individual is a candidate if the individual does any of the following:

"Candidate committee" means a committee as defined in this section which makes an expenditure or accepts a contribution in behalf of a candidate with the candidate's authorization.

"Commission" means the campaign spending commission.

"Committee" means:

"Contribution" means:

"Election" means any election for judicial office.

"Election period" means the two-year period between general election days if a candidate is seeking nomination or election to a two-year office and the four-year time period between general election days if a candidate is seeking nomination or election to a four-year office.

"Expenditure" means:

"Immediate family" means a candidate's spouse, and any child, parent, grandparent, brother, or sister of the candidate, and the spouses of such persons.

"Individual" means a natural person.

"Loan" means an advance of money, goods, or services, with a promise to repay in full or in part within a specified period of time.

"Matching payment period" means:

"Noncandidate committee" means a committee as defined in this section and does not include a candidate's committee.

"Office" means any elective judicial office excluding federal judicial offices.

"Party" means any political party which satisfies the requirements of section 11-61.

"Person" means an individual, partnership, committee, association, corporation, or labor union and its auxiliary committees.

"Private contribution" means a monetary contribution other than from a candidate's own funds or from the Hawaii election campaign fund.

"Qualifying campaign contribution" means an aggregate monetary contribution of $100 or less, by any person during any matching payment period. Qualifying contributions do not include loans or in-kind contributions.

"Special election" means any election other than a primary or general election."

SECTION 3. In codifying the new sections added by section 2 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.