THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            115
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION
  REQUESTING A STUDY OF HAWAII'S CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAWS.



 1        WHEREAS, Hawaii laws relating to campaign finance have
 2   become increasingly chaotic over the course of time, and more
 3   complicated than strictly necessary, with provisions that are
 4   sometimes redundant or seemingly contradictory; and
 5   
 6        WHEREAS, it is often necessary to look in several
 7   different sections to determine the law on any particular
 8   point; and
 9   
10        WHEREAS, for example, to determine the requirements for a
11   supplemental campaign spending report, it is necessary to look
12   in four different sections of the law - the general
13   requirements for filing of reports, the requirements for the
14   final primary report, the separate requirements pertaining to a
15   surplus or to a deficit, and additional provisions stating
16   additional requirements for a supplemental campaign spending
17   report; and
18   
19        WHEREAS, the Campaign Spending Commission has, over the
20   past two years, requested the legislature to delete particular
21   requirements because the same requirements were also stated
22   elsewhere in the campaign spending laws; and
23   
24        WHEREAS, testimony from interested parties regarding these
25   proposals demonstrated great confusion as to whether the law
26   would be substantively changed by the proposals; and
27   
28        WHEREAS, the total amount of public funding available for
29   certain offices under current law is split between the primary
30   and general elections; and
31   
32        WHEREAS, a proposal to simplify but not substantively
33   change the public funding provisions by stating that half of
34   the total amount of public funding is available for each
35   election (primary and general) has raised confusion among
36   members of the community as to whether the amendment would
37   decrease by one-half the total amount of funding per election
38   cycle; and
39   

 
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 1        WHEREAS, there is often confusion among members of the
 2   public as to the statutory use of various terms such as
 3   election, office, election year, and election period; and
 4   
 5        WHEREAS, the terms used in campaign finance laws are
 6   defined, but may over the course of time have come to be used
 7   confusingly or incorrectly in certain provisions of the law;
 8   and
 9   
10        WHEREAS, Hawaii's campaign finance laws have become so
11   confusing that even those agencies that work with them on a
12   daily basis sometimes find it difficult to determine exactly
13   what the laws provide on a particular point; and
14   
15        WHEREAS, it is unfair to expect Hawaii's citizens to be
16   informed about a body of law that is so convoluted that even
17   experts find it difficult to use; and
18   
19        WHEREAS, a recodification of these laws will make them
20   easier to understand for all who are affected by them, and will
21   simplify future substantive changes to the law; now, therefore,
22   
23        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
24   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, the House of
25   Representatives concurring, that the Legislative Reference
26   Bureau, in cooperation with the Campaign Spending Commission,
27   is requested to conduct a study of Hawaii laws governing
28   campaign finance, identifying problems with the structure of
29   the current laws including poor organization of provisions,
30   confusingly written provisions, redundant provisions, and
31   inconsistencies; and
32   
33        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Campaign Spending
34   Commission is requested to provide to the Legislative Reference
35   Bureau by June 1, 2000, a list of all provisions of the
36   campaign finance law of which it is aware that are
37   inconsistent, redundant, confusing, poorly structured, or
38   otherwise problematic; and
39   
40        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference
41   Bureau is requested to make recommendations for a
42   recodification of the laws governing campaign finance, but only
43   to the extent that the recodification can be accomplished
44   without substantive change to the law;
45   

 
 
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                                  S.C.R. NO.            115
                                                        S.D. 1
                                                        

 
 1        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Campaign Spending
 2   Commission is requested to make recommendations for substantive
 3   changes to the campaign finance laws as necessary to resolve
 4   inconsistencies in the law and otherwise carry out the intent
 5   of this resolution; and
 6   
 7        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference
 8   Bureau is requested to submit the study and its recommendations
 9   to the legislature twenty days prior to the convening of the
10   2001 regular session; and
11   
12        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Campaign Spending
13   Commission is requested to submit proposed legislation with
14   substantive changes, if necessary, to the legislature twenty
15   days prior to the convening of the 2001 regular session; and
16   
17        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Concurrent
18   Resolution be transmitted to the Acting Director of the
19   Legislative Reference Bureau and the Executive Director of the
20   Campaign Spending Commission.