STAND. COM. REP. NO.  404-10

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2010

RE:   H.B. No. 2003

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 2003 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CAMPAIGN FINANCING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to improve the campaign system and process by updating, organizing, and clarifying current campaign finance laws.

     The State Campaign Spending Commission and League of Women Voters of Hawaii testified in support of this bill.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

     (1)  Clarifying that the term "advertisement" does not mean an editorial or letter to the editor distributed through the facilities of any broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, or other periodical publication, unless they are owned or controlled by any candidate committee or noncandidate committee;

     (2)  Making the term "fundraiser" applicable to the entire chapter;

     (3)  Specifying that the treasurer of the candidate committee be one of the individuals required to file preliminary, final, and supplemental reports;

     (4)  Specifying that the chairperson and treasurer of a party of a noncandidate committee are the individuals required to file preliminary, final, and supplemental noncandidate committee reports;

     (5)  Removing candidate expenditures from a list of expenditures required to be itemized on schedules filed with non-candidate committee reports;

     (6)  Specifying that the treasurer of a noncandidate committee that is not a party shall file the late contribution report;

     (7)  Requiring a candidate, candidate committee, or noncandidate committee to keep a record of the contribution, in addition to issuing a receipt to the contributor, when accepting a contribution of more than $100 in cash from a single person;

     (8)  Removing language specifying the conditions under which contributions from State and county contractors are prohibited;

     (9)  Removing language limiting contribution amounts to noncandidate committees;

    (10)  Requiring a limited liability company to provide information to the party, noncandidate committee, or candidate committee receiving the contribution specifying how the contribution is to be attributed at the time the company makes the contribution;

    (11)  Stipulating that campaign funds may be used by a candidate, treasurer, or candidate committee to make donations to:

          (A)  Any community service, educational, youth, recreational, charitable, scientific, or literary organization; provided that the total amount of all contributions is not more than twice the maximum amount that one person may contribute to that candidate in any election period; and

          (B)  Any public school or public library with certain restrictions;

    (12)  Specifying that an affidavit to voluntarily limit a candidate's expenditures shall remain in effect until the termination of the registration of the candidate committee or the opening of the filing of nomination papers for the next succeeding election;

    (13)  Specifying that the aggregate expenditures for each election by a candidate who voluntarily agrees to limit campaign expenditures shall not exceed $1.40 multiplied by the number of voters in the last preceding general election registered to vote in the voting district for county council members under partial public funding; and

    (14)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

     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. 2003, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2003, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

____________________________

JON RIKI KARAMATSU, Chair