STAND. COM. REP. NO. 548

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 443

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. 443 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ORGANIZATIONAL REPORTS OF CANDIDATE COMMITTEES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to repeal the requirement of reporting contributions of more than $100 in the organizational report of a candidate committee.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Campaign Spending Commission.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual.

     Your Committee finds that existing law requires candidate committees to disclose their contributions in periodic disclosure reports pursuant to sections 11-333 and 11-338, Hawaii Revised Statutes.  The Campaign Spending Commission indicated in its written testimony that the organizational report of a candidate committee contains only directory-type information that does not have space for a candidate committee to disclose contributions.  Thus, this measure deletes an unnecessary requirement.

     Your Committee notes that while this measure may appear to reduce the public availability of information concerning campaign contributions, the statutory revisions contained in this measure relate only to organizational reports and have no adverse impact on full public disclosure of campaign contributions.  This measure is intended only to address statutory redundancy and to allow the Campaign Spending Commission to process initial organizational reports more efficiently.

     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. 443 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

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GILBERT S.C. KEITH-AGARAN, Chair