STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1088

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2015

RE:   S.B. No. 657

      S.D. 1

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 657, S.D. 1, entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to provide additional public disclosure by requiring a new supplemental report by candidate committees to be filed within thirty days after the conclusion of a special session of the full legislature, but only if the next regularly scheduled report is due more than ninety days after the conclusion of that special session.

The Campaign Spending Commission testified in support of the intent of this measure.  The Department of the Attorney General provided comments.

     Your Committee finds it is necessary to have more timely disclosures of the contributions made to legislators who were engaged in a special session.  Special sessions are convened for several significant reasons, including to consider overriding a measure vetoed by the Governor, confirming certain judicial nominees, and enacting measures on important matters that demand attention prior to the regular session.  However, the deadlines for supplemental reports of contributions made to legislators during the special session are scheduled so that several months could pass before the contributions are reported.  During this time, the public would not be informed of any contributions made during a special session.  The additional reporting requirement proposed by this measure is appropriately limited to legislators who were engaged in a special session and who received contributions during the special session.

     Your Committee has amended this measure to:

(1)  Require a supplemental report for contributions made to legislators during a special session that is convened for any purpose by one or both legislative houses;

(2)  Provide that a report is not required from legislators whose legislative house did not convene in special session or from legislators who did not receive contributions during the special session;

(3)  Provide that information reported in a supplemental report does not need to be included in any subsequent reports; and

(4)  Make this measure effective upon its approval.

     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. 657, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 657, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair