CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 81

Honolulu, Hawaii

                 , 2017

RE:    H.B. No. 511

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 1

       C.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sirs:

     Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the House of Representatives to the amendments proposed by the Senate in H.B. No. 511, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LOBBYISTS,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

     The purpose of this measure is to clarify and enhance consistency in the administration and enforcement of Hawaii's lobbying laws by amending the laws governing lobbyists including:

     (1)  Amending the definition of "expenditure" to include the expense of preparing for a hearing before the Legislature or administrative agency;

     (2)  Specifying that certain expenses for intrastate travel costs are excluded from the definition of "expenditure," but the exclusion does not apply to travel costs of legislators, board members, commission members, or other employees of the State;

     (3)  Specifying that expenses incurred by nonprofit organizations to prepare and submit a grant application are excluded from the definition of "expenditure";

     (4)  Amending the definition of "lobbyist" to specify types of activities and amounts of expenditures that qualify as lobbying;

     (5)  Amending the definition of "lobbying" to exclude the preparation and submission of a grant application by a representative of a nonprofit organization;

     (6)  Allowing a person who had employed or contracted with a lobbyist to file a notice of termination;

     (7)  Amending the requirements for submitting lobbyist reports for the periods covered by special sessions of the Legislature;

     (8)  Increasing the maximum administrative fine from $500 to $1000 for each violation of the lobbying law; and

     (9)  Requiring the State Ethics Commission to post on the Internet the lobbyists' registration statements within a reasonable time after filing and to maintain the posting for at least four years.

     Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting from the definition of lobbyist an individual who engages in an unspecified number of measures during the legislative session; and

     (2)  Making the measure effective upon approval.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 511, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 511, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

____________________________ GILBERT S.C. KEITH-AGARAN Chair

____________________________ SCOTT Y. NISHIMOTO Chair