Report Title:
Campaign Spending; Corporate Contributions; Surplus Funds
Description:
Clarifies limitations on corporate contributions to a noncandidate committee. Clarifies that retiring elected officials may contribute surplus funds to a political party without filing an organizational statement. Requires campaign spending commission to adopt rules that establish schedule of fines.
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
2455 |
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TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to campaign spending.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Section 11-204, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§11-204 Campaign contributions; limits as to persons.
(a) (1) No person or any other entity shall make contributions to:
(A) A candidate seeking nomination or election to a two-year office or to the candidate's committee in an aggregate amount greater than $2,000 during an election period;
(B) A candidate seeking nomination or election to a four-year statewide office or to the candidate's committee in an aggregate amount greater than $6,000 during an election period; and
(C) A candidate seeking nomination or election to a four-year nonstatewide office or to the candidate's committee in an aggregate amount greater than $4,000 during an election period.
These limits shall not apply to a loan made to a candidate by a financial institution in the ordinary course of business;
(2) For purposes of this section, the length of term of an office shall be the usual length of term of the office as unaffected by reapportionment, a special election to fill a vacancy, or any other factor causing the term of the office the candidate is seeking to be less than the usual length of term of that office.
(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[.]; provided that this limitation
shall apply to corporate contributions to a noncandidate committee only when a
corporation makes a contribution directly from its own treasury to the noncandidate
committee.
(c) Corporate contributions to a candidate shall be subject to the same contribution limitation as that imposed upon a person or any other entity.
[(c)] (d) A candidate's
immediate family, in making contributions to the candidate's campaign, shall be
exempt from the above limitation, 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)] (e) 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)] (f) Any candidate,
candidate's committee, or committee that receives in the aggregate more than
the applicable limits set forth in this section in any primary, initial
special, special, or general election from a person, shall be required to
return any excess contribution to the original donor within thirty days of
receipt of the excess contribution. Any excess contribution not returned to
the original donor within thirty days shall escheat to the Hawaii election
campaign fund. A candidate, candidate's committee, or committee who complies
with this subsection prior to the initiation of prosecution shall not be
subject to any penalty under section 11-228.
[(f)] (g) All payments made by a
person or political party 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, political
committees established and maintained by a national political party, or any
other person, or by any group of those persons shall be considered to be made
by a single person or political party.
[(g)] (h) An individual and any
general partnership in which the individual is a partner shall be treated as
one person.
[(h)] (i) No committee that
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.
[(i)] (j) No contributions or
expenditures shall be made to or on behalf of a candidate or committee by a
foreign national or 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 110.20, as amended. No
foreign-owned domestic corporation shall make contributions where:
(1) Foreign national individuals participate in election-related activities such as decisions concerning the making of contributions or the administration of a political committee; or
(2) The contribution funds are not domestically-derived.
[(j)] (k) No person or any other
entity other than political committees established and maintained by a national
political party shall make contributions to a political party in an aggregate
amount greater than $25,000 in any two-year election period. No political
committee established and maintained by a national political party[,]
shall make contributions to a political party in an aggregate amount greater
than $50,000 in any two-year election period.
[(k)] (l) The
contribution limits under this section shall apply for the office sought by the
candidate. This section shall not apply to ballot issue committees."
SECTION 2. Section 11-206, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
"(c) Surplus funds may be used after a general or special election for:
(1) Any fundraising activity;
(2) Any other politically related activity sponsored by the candidate;
(3) Any ordinary and necessary expenses incurred in
connection with the candidate's duties as a holder of an elected state or county
office; [or]
(4) Any contribution to a political party by a retiring elected official without filing an organizational report to run for office; provided that in any election cycle no person shall make contributions to a political party in an aggregate amount greater than $25,000 in any two-year election period pursuant to section 11-204(k); or
[(4)] (5) Any contribution to any
community service, educational, youth, recreational, charitable, scientific, or
literary organization; provided that in any election cycle, the total amount of
all contributions from campaign funds and surplus funds shall be no more than
the maximum amount that one person or other entity may contribute to that
candidate pursuant to section 11-204(a); provided further that no contributions
from campaign funds shall be made from the date the candidate files nomination
papers to the date of the general election."
SECTION 3. Section 11-214, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:
"(d) Surplus funds may be expended by a
candidate for the next subsequent election upon registration for the election
pursuant to section 11-194[.]; provided that surplus funds may be
expended at any time as contributions to a political party pursuant to section
11-206."
SECTION 4. The campaign spending commission shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to establish a schedule that establishes the amount of each fine for each relevant campaign spending violation. The fine schedule shall be based upon the dollar amount of each violation.
SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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