STAND. COM. REP. NO. 67

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 114

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 114 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to establish presidential preference primary elections for the 2028 election cycle.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the League of Women Voters of Hawaii and ten individuals.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from Hawaiian Islands Republican Women and forty individuals.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Office of Elections, Office of the City Clerk of the City and County of Honolulu, and Office of the County Clerk of the County of Maui.

Your Committee finds that state run caucuses engage with a much smaller number of prospective voters, who may or may not reflect the economic, geographical, and social diversity of the State's people, despite the best efforts of the state parties to be inclusive. Your Committee further finds that the President of the United States of America is arguably the most important leader in the free world. Therefore, it is important to bring the question of who should be President to each and every registered voter in the State. This measure will make it easier for citizens of the State to participate and vote in selecting their national leader.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Defining the term "presidential preference primary";

(2) Changing the appropriations to an unspecified amount;

(3) Inserting an effective date of April 23, 2057, to encourage further discussion; and

(4) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

Your Committee notes that this measure, as amended, contains unspecified appropriation amounts. A previous version of this measure contained specific appropriation amounts and your Committee received testimony from the Office of Elections, Office of the City Clerk of the City and County of Honolulu, and Office of the County Clerk of the County of Maui requesting changes to the appropriation amounts. Should your Committee on Ways and Means choose to deliberate on this measure, your Committee respectfully requests that it consider inserting appropriation amounts of:

(1) $4,194,067 to the Office of Elections for the administration of the presidential preference primary election in 2028; and

(2) $2,177,575 as a grant-in-aid to the counties for the administration of the presidential preference primary election in 2028 as follows:

(A) $258,075 to the County of Hawai‘i;

(B) $1,122,000 to the City and County of Honolulu;

(C) $147,500 to the County of Kaua‘i; and

(D) $650,000 to the County of Maui.

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. 114, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 114, 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,

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KARL RHOADS, Chair