STAND. COM. REP. NO. 155

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 809

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. 809 entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to reduce the potential for donations to unduly influence policy-making and to improve actual and perceived standards of conduct by expanding the prohibition against contributions to candidate and noncandidate committees to include contributions from state and county grantees and the officers and immediate family members of a state or county contractor or grantee.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Campaign Spending Commission, League of Women Voters of Hawaii, Education Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi, Our Hawaiʻi, and fifty-one individuals.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the State Procurement Office.

Your Committee finds that the State's existing campaign finance law prohibits companies who receive state and county contracts from making campaign contributions. However, the prohibition does not extend to any owners, officers, or family members of the contractor, meaning that those individuals can still make contributions to election campaigns. Your Committee also finds that there are no campaign prohibitions on organizations that receive grants from the State or counties. These grantees receive public funds appropriated by a legislative body, similar to state or county contractors.

Your Committee notes that according to testimony on this measure, as written, it may have the potential to reach owners of a very small interest in the contractor. Your Committee also notes that it is unclear whether this measure would apply certain reporting requirements to all contracts, regardless of the dollar value or method of procurement, and that requiring agencies to submit a report for every single contract will be an administrative burden.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Exempting contracts under the small purchase threshold of $100,000 for goods or services or $250,000 for construction from the mandatory disclosure requirement;

(2) Defining "owner" to mean a person with at least a five percent interest in the contractor or grantee; 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. 809, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 809, 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