STAND. COM. REP. NO 186

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 440

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 440 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO VIOLATIONS OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAW,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Increase the fine imposed on a noncandidate committee that makes only independent expenditures and either receives certain contributions or makes a certain amount of expenditures in an election period;

     (2)  Authorize the Campaign Spending Commission to order a person in violation of campaign finance laws to pay for costs of investigative services and bank fees for the production of subpoenaed documents incurred by the Commission due to the violation; and

     (3)  Direct any costs recovered by the Campaign Spending Commission to be deposited into the Hawaii election campaign fund.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Campaign Spending Commission, League of Women Voters of Hawaii, and Common Cause Hawaii.

     Your Committee finds that by increasing the fine that may be assessed against a noncandidate committee making only independent expenditures, more commonly known as political action committees or Super PACs, for campaign finance law violations, this measure takes into account inflation and the current political landscape as a result of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010), which allowed private entities to donate unlimited amounts of money into elections.  Furthermore, directing costs recovered by the Campaign Spending Commission to be deposited into the Hawaii election campaign fund will assist in supporting the sustainability of the fund and the State's partial public funding program.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 440, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 440, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

________________________________

GILBERT S.C. KEITH-AGARAN, Chair