STAND. COM. REP. NO. 625
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2005
RE: S.B. No. 440
S.D. 1
Honorable Robert Bunda
President of the Senate
Twenty-Third State Legislature
Regular Session of 2005
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 440 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CAMPAIGN SPENDING,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to strengthen and clarify Hawaii's campaign spending law.
Specifically, this measure:
(1) Prohibits fundraising on state or county property and creates a misdemeanor offense for violations of this prohibition;
(2) Limits contributions from non-residents, including a noncandidate committee organized under the laws of another state, to thirty per cent of the total contributions received by a candidate or candidate's committee;
(3) Prohibits campaign contributions from corporations, labor unions, and banks, but allows these entities to establish a separate segregated fund from which to make campaign contributions;
(4) Reduces the time period from ten years to four years that county clerks must preserve all reports filed with the Campaign Spending Commission;
(5) Extends the requirement of electronically filing reports with the Campaign Spending Commission to include candidates for the State Senate, State House of Representatives, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, while still allowing campaigns without access to the Internet to file reports by non-electronic means;
(6) Prohibits campaign contributions from being used or given to community or charitable organizations during an election, but allows surplus funds to be used or given to these same organizations during a ninety-day period after the election;
(7) Imposes a $25,000 cap on an individual's or entity's contributions to all candidates, reduces the cap on contributions to political parties to $25,000, and clarifies that contribution caps are also applicable to noncandidate committees;
(8) Prohibits campaign contributions from state and county government contractors;
(9) Clarifies provisions relating to loans made to a candidate or the candidate's committee by requiring that the terms of the loan, including the interest rate and repayment schedule, be disclosed and that the loan, with certain exceptions, be reported as a campaign contribution;
(10) Prohibits campaign contributions received by a candidate for a specific federal, state, or county office from being used by the same candidate for another federal, state, or county office;
(11) Prohibits the deposit of campaign contributions until all relevant information relating to the date and amount of the contribution as well as the identity of the donor is on file with the Commission;
(12) Mandates the return of all campaign contributions if a candidate, committee, or individual who receives contributions for an elective office does not file nomination papers;
(13) Increases the amount of public funds available to candidates for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs from $100 to $1500;
(14) Allows publicly funded candidates to receive public funds in both the primary and general election by raising qualifying campaign contributions only in the primary election and matches $2 for every $1 raised in excess of the minimum amount of qualifying campaign contributions;
(15) Clarifies that candidates in special elections are not eligible for public funding; and
(16) Makes technical, non-substantive amendments for purposes of clarity and to conform to the requirements of federal law.
The Campaign Spending Commission submitted testimony in support of the measure. The Hawaii Government Employees Association submitted testimony in opposition to the measure. The Department of the Attorney General offered comments on the measure.
Your Committee finds that this measure is designed to promote trust, transparency, and fairness in the conduct of Hawaii's elections by making necessary amendments to Hawaii's campaign spending laws. This measure is designed to provide greater accountability to the public by prohibiting campaign contributions from certain organizations and entities as well as requiring the disclosure of additional information with respect to the source and conditions upon which campaign contributions are made to candidates. This measure also implements "caps" in regard to the amount of contributions that may be donated to candidates as well as regulates the ability of candidates to utilize campaign contributions for non-election-related purposes. Further, this measure is designed to reduce a candidate's reliance on campaign contributions by making the option of publicly funded campaigns a more attractive alternative for candidates.
Your Committee seeks to provide guidance and clarification with respect to two provisions in this measure. The prohibition against fundraising on state or county property would not preclude a candidate from hosting a campaign-related function or event at a school cafeteria or other state or county forum, if these premises and facilities are also available, on similar terms and conditions, for use by members of the public or community groups.
The second clarification concerns the prohibition on contributions or donations by candidates to community organizations, including community service, educational, youth, recreational, charitable, scientific, or literary organizations during an election period. Your Committee is mindful that this restriction may negatively impact community organizations that a candidate has consistently supported over the years. However, any negative impact that may arise from the enforcement of this prohibition is ameliorated by a provision in this measure that allows for the disbursement of surplus campaign funds to these organizations during a ninety-day period after the election.
Your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Removing labor unions from the prohibition against contributions or expenditures that applies to banks and corporations;
(2) Clarifying the time period that the ban on contributions and solicitations from state and county government contractor applies to include the execution of the contract through the completion of the government contract;
(3) Including the purchase of property between a government contractor and a county or state government agency in determining the applicability of the restriction against soliciting or receiving contributions from government contractors;
(4) Removing the ability of the Campaign Spending Commission to issue a public censure against a candidate who fails to comply with the Code of Fair Campaign Practices. This amendment is designed to conform Hawaii's law to the recent ruling by a federal court in the Ancheta case which struck down similar provisions as unconstitutional;
(5) Modifying the prohibition against a candidate using campaign contributions received for a specific state or county office for another political office, by permitting this transfer if the candidate obtains the written consent of the donor regarding the subsequent use of that contribution;
(6) Clarifying the public financing law to allow a candidate to receive public funds, provided that the candidate is able to obtain the minimum amount of qualifying contributions at least once for that election period; and
(7) Making technical, non-substantive amendments for purposes of clarity.
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 S.B. No. 440, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 440, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs,
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____________________________ COLLEEN HANABUSA, Chair |
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