STAND. COM. REP. NO.2808
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2002
RE: S.B. No. 2431
S.D. 2
Honorable Robert Bunda
President of the Senate
Twenty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2002
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2431, S.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CAMPAIGN SPENDING,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to strengthen the State's campaign spending laws.
Specifically, the measure:
(1) Limits aggregate campaign contributions from any person or entity to not more than $25,000, in any calendar year; provided that a contribution made to a candidate during a non-election year is counted as though made to the candidate in an election year;
(2) Prohibits banks, corporations, and labor organizations from making campaign contributions, except through a separate segregated fund established for political purposes;
(3) Repeals the existing law relating to fundraising activities; and
(4) Makes other amendments to facilitate the effective administration and enforcement of campaign spending laws.
Your Committee remains dedicated to accommodating the desire of the public for fairness in the campaign spending laws. Your Committee is also concerned about large entities that can afford to make large contributions that could be interpreted as influencing an elected official.
Your Committee has amended the measure by:
(1) Inserting a prohibition on campaign contributions from contractors for a limited time before and after the contract;
(2) Inserting a section that makes the intentional falsification of campaign spending reports a class C felony;
(3) Deleting the proposed language that would include a candidate's contribution to the candidate's campaign in the $50,000 aggregate contribution limit applicable to the candidate's immediate family;
(4) Deleting the section that would allow candidates to file their reports by the current electronic filing system or by commercially available accounting software; and
(5) Making the effective date July 1, 2050, to promote further discussion on the issue.
Your Committee believes that the measure corrects the imbalances and inequities in the current law.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2431, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2431, S.D. 2.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,
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____________________________ BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair |
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