STAND. COM. REP. NO.702-02
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2002
RE: H.B. No. 2672
H.D. 2
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2002
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 2672, H.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this bill is to prohibit fundraising activities in public offices where government business is conducted.
Your Committee received testimony in support of this bill from the State Ethics Commission, Common Cause Hawaii, and the League of Women Voters of Hawaii, and two concerned individuals. The State Campaign Spending Commission testified in opposition to this measure.
Your Committee finds it appropriate to prohibit fundraising activities on state property. Because of the traditional use of school cafeterias fundraising events, your Committee has exempted schools. The term "school property" is intended to indicate that fundraisers may take place in such areas as cafeterias, courtyards, and parking lots. The intent is not to allow solicitation of political contributions in areas in the school such as offices and classrooms where official business occurs. Your Committee does not intend this measure to prohibit fundraising events in public meeting halls, conference centers, and like facilities that are available for rental to the public.
As to the State Capitol building, however, the Committee intends for all campaign contribution solicitation to be prohibited, in open courtyards as well as in private offices.
Section 1 of this bill as received is patterned after provisions in the civil service law designed to protect civil service employees from obligatory participation in political activities. Some of these provisions were modified or deleted because they contained antiquated language or because they related to matters beyond the scope of the title of this bill.
Your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Clarifying that a public officer or employee must not invite another person to solicit political contributions in locations where government business is conducted;
(2) Deleting material that pertained to state officers taking action to affect their subordinates, which is beyond the scope of this measure;
(3) Deleting material about "handing over" things of value, to clarify the prohibition applies to solicitation of campaign contributions but not the receipt of unsolicited contributions;
(2) Deleting references to "assessment" of contributions;
(5) Including members of boards and commissions in the definition "public officer or employee";
(6) Adding a definition of "political contribution"; and
(7) Deleting proposed additions to section 11-22, Hawaii Revised Statutes, concerning penalties.
In response to the concern stated in your Committee on Legislative Management's Committee Report No. 298-01, your Committee considered whether this provision would be placed more properly in chapter 84, Hawaii Revised Statutes, Standards of Conduct, or in the Hawaii Penal Code, and concluded that placement in chapter 11 is appropriate.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2672, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2672, H.D. 2.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs,
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____________________________ ERIC G. HAMAKAWA, Chair |
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