STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2685

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2989

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2020

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 2989 entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to allow candidates seeking election for state- and county-level offices to use campaign funds for child care costs, under certain conditions.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, Common Cause Hawaii, Breastfeeding Hawaii, Midwives Alliance of Hawaii, and five individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Campaign Spending Commission.

Your Committee finds that parenthood should not be a barrier to political office. Allowing candidates to use campaign funds to defray the high costs of child care that is needed for the candidate to participate in campaign activities will encourage more women and low-income candidates to run for office. This measure will help to clear a restrictive financial barrier to public offices for parents and guardians of child dependents.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting language that would have restricted the use of campaign finances for child care costs to candidates running for specific state- and county-level offices;

(2) Authorizing that campaign funds may be used for child care costs only if such costs would not occur but for the candidate's participation in the candidate's own campaign activity;

(3) Deleting language that would have limited the use of campaign funds for child care expenses to weekends or after 3:00 p.m. on weekdays;

(4) Allowing campaign funds to be used for childcare costs of a candidate beginning January 1 of the election year and ending one day after the date of the election in which the candidate was participating;

(5) Prohibiting immediate family members from being the care giver receiving campaign funds for child care expenses;

(6) Inserting definitions for "child", "child care", and "immediate family member";

(7) Deleting language relating to child care costs under the prohibition of use of campaign funds for personal expenses;

(8) Inserting an effective date of January 1, 2022; and

(9) 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 that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2989, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2989, 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,

________________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair