Honolulu, Hawaii
H.D. 1
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-Fourth State Legislature
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 1130 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CAMPAIGN SPENDING,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this bill is to improve our election system by:
(1) Revising various election campaign reporting deadlines;
(2) Amending definitions of "contribution" and "expenditure";
(3) Increasing amounts that may be spent per voter for state and county elections in a publicly-funded campaign;
(4) Adding the office of the prosecuting attorney as an election subject to spending limitation per voter in publicly-funded campaigns; and
(5) Increasing the maximum amount of public funding available to elections for state senator, state representative, county council member, and prosecuting attorney.
The Campaign Spending Commission (Commission) submitted comments on this bill.
Your Committee has amended this bill by:
(1) Requiring noncandidate committees to register with the Commission by filing an organizational report;
(2) Removing the specific dollar amount for the expenditure limit for the offices of state senator, state representative, county council member, and prosecuting attorney;
(3) Removing the specific dollar amount for the limit on the maximum amount of public funding available for the offices of state senator, state representative, county council member, and prosecuting attorney;
(4) Changing the effective date to January 1, 2112, to facilitate further discussion; and
(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive changes for clarity, consistency, and style.
Your Committee appreciates the Commission's proposals for amendments to this bill, including those to raise limits and amounts on expenditures and public funding, and your Committee considered raising them even further to make partial public funding more attractive to a greater number of candidates. Your Committee is still working with the Commission to determine what levels, for both expenditure limits and available funds, could be realistically used without overly straining the Election Campaign Fund.
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. 1130, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1130, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,
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TOMMY WATERS, Chair |
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