STAND. COM. REP. NO. 750

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 528

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 528 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require printed and electronic political advertising to prominently display candidate-approval language on each page; and

(2) Increase the fine for violations.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Common Cause Hawaii and twelve individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Campaign Spending Commission.

Your Committee finds that pieces of advertising are frequently presented in such a way that their nature as advertisements is not obvious, and that this can be done with political advertising as well. Your Committee further finds that political advertising with multiple pages may contain the required candidate-approval language in a place or manner that is not immediately apparent to the viewer. Requiring candidate-approval language more frequently throughout a multi-page advertisement will make its nature more apparent and increase transparency in political advertising.

Your Committee notes that political candidates occasionally release longer pieces of literature not directly related to politics, such as cookbooks, as part of their campaign, and that it is unlikely that candidate-approval language would be beneficial or necessary throughout such a piece of literature.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Requiring political advertising to prominently display candidate-approval language only on each odd-numbered page;

(2) Retaining existing fines for violations; and

(3) 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. 528, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 528, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

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KARL RHOADS, Chair