STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1204-16

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2016

RE:   S.B. No. 2029

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 2029 entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to increase the effectiveness of the Campaign Spending Commission's (Commission) enforcement authority by:

     (1)  Making a person, other than an individual, that commits a campaign spending violation subject to an administrative fine not to exceed $5,000 or an amount equivalent to three times the amount of the unlawful contribution or expenditure;

     (2)  Allowing the Commission to recover its costs, including investigative services costs; and

     (3)  Directing the costs recovered by the Commission to be deposited into the Hawaii Election Campaign Fund.

The Campaign Spending Commission, League of Women Voters, and Common Cause Hawaii testified in support of this measure.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Specifying that noncandidate committees that make only independent expenditures are subject to the increased administrative fines;

     (2)  Deleting the reference to political activities of liquor commission employees (section 281-22, Hawaii Revised Statutes);

     (3)  Permitting the Commission to recover the Commission's cost of investigative services and bank fees for the production of subpoenaed documents from the violator; and

     (4)  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 S.B. No. 2029, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2029, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair