STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1888

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    H.B. No. 164

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 164, H.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATIONS,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

 

     (1)  Apply the electioneering communication section only to noncandidate committees;

 

     (2)  Amend the definition of "disclosure date" to mean the date when the electioneering communication is publicly distributed;

 

     (3)  Expand the definition of "electioneering communication" in section 11-341(d), HRS, to apply to advertisements:

 

          (A)  Sent by any mail rate;

 

          (B)  That are expenditures of an organization; and

 

          (C)  Are made or scheduled to be made within 90 days of an election;

 

     (4)  Repeal the presumption that a person who has executed a contract to make an expenditure for electioneering communications has made those expenditures for the purposes of electioneering communication statement of information requirements; and

 

     (5)  Require any advertisement by a noncandidate committee that makes only independent expenditures to disclose all contributors for the advertisements.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Campaign Spending Commission.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General and Hawaii Association of Broadcasters, Inc.

 

     Your Committee finds that the democratic election process benefits from transparency in campaign advertising.  Your Committee further finds that well-funded political action committees are capable of influencing elections to a significant degree.  This measure will increase transparency and provide additional clarification to campaign advertising laws.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Requiring all persons, candidate, and noncandidate committees that make electioneering communication expenditures to a single vendor of more than $2,000 in aggregate in one week to file a report with the Campaign Spending Commission within thirty days of a primary election or sixty days of a general or special election;

 

     (2)  Requiring all noncandidate committees to disclose the top three contributors to the committee in their advertising;

 

     (3)  Removing overly broad language in the definition of "disclosure date";

 

     (4)  Inserting an effective date of March 15, 2094, to encourage further discussion; and

 

     (5)  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 H.B. No. 164, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 164, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

 

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

 

 

 

________________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair