STAND. COM. REP. NO. 772

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: H.B. No. 1747

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 1747 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CAMPAIGNS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to establish new limits for campaign contributions to candidates, noncandidate committees, and political parties during specified election periods. Specifically, this bill:

(1) Limits campaign contributions by a person or any other entity to no more than:

(A) $500 to any candidate during an election period;

(B) $500 in the aggregate to a noncandidate committee in an election;

(C) $25,000 in the aggregate to any number of candidates or noncandidate committees in an election period; and

(D) $10,000 in the aggregate to a political party in any two-year election period;

(2) Clarifies that limits on contributions to candidates do not apply to a loan made to a candidate by a financial institution in the ordinary course of business;

(3) Clarifies that the limits on a noncandidate committee's contribution to a candidate are the same as those for a person or any other entity; and

(4) Specifies that excess contributions must be returned to the original donor within 30 days of receipt of the donation, or they will escheat to the Hawaii Election Campaign Fund.

The Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO opposed this bill. The Campaign Spending Commission (CSC) offered comments.

Your Committee has amended this bill by, among other things, adding several provisions from H.B. No. 323, which proposes comprehensive changes to the Hawaii campaign spending law. As amended, this bill differs from the bill referred to your Committee by:

(1) Limiting contributions from nonresident individuals and persons, including a noncandidate committee, to no more than 30 percent of the total contributions received by a candidate or candidate's committee during an election period;

(2) Defining "residual funds" and "surplus funds" to mean unspent money from contributions held by a candidate or committee after a general or special election and after all campaign expenditures have been paid for the election period;

(3) Providing that a candidate seeking election to the same office in successive elections and who is not required to report any change in information submitted in an organizational report under section 11-196(b), Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), is not required to file a report after filing nomination papers for office or after receiving contributions or making expenditures amounting to more than $100 in the aggregate pursuant to section 11-194, HRS;

(4) Specifying that a noncandidate committee must file an organizational report within ten days of receiving contributions or making expenditures amounting to more than $1000 in the aggregate in a two-year election period;

(5) Requiring a candidate seeking election to the Senate, House of Representatives, or the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) to file reports electronically with CSC beginning in 2006, except for candidates with contributions or expenditures of less than $5,000 or who have obtained a waiver due to lack of access to a computer or the Internet;

(6) Increasing the amount of public funds available to OHA candidates in any election year, from $100 to $1,500;

(7) Requiring candidates to receive campaign contributions qualifying them for public funds from individual residents of Hawaii only;

(8) Specifying that candidates in a special election are not eligible for public funding;

(9) Providing that a candidate who raises qualifying campaign contributions is entitled to receive for each election:

(A) The minimum amount of qualifying campaign contributions; and

(B) $2 for every $1 raised in excess of the minimum amount of qualifying campaign contributions;

up to the maximum amount of public funds available to the candidate under section 11-218, HRS;

(10) Adding a savings clause;

(11) Specifying that the contribution limits proposed in this measure only affect contributions received after the effective date of this bill; and

(12) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity and style.

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 H.B. No. 1747, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1747, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

 

____________________________

SYLVIA LUKE, Chair