Bill Text: HI HB1380 | 2019 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relating To Campaign Finance.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 32-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-03-20 - Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM. [HB1380 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2019-HB1380-Amended.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
1380 |
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THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019 |
H.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
S.D. 1 |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO CAMPAIGN FINANCE.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the state constitution requires the State to establish partial public financing of campaigns for public offices of the State and its political subdivisions. Candidate public financing programs are voluntary programs in which public funds are provided to candidates who agree to limit their campaign spending. The primary purpose of these types of programs is to reduce the role of large amounts of private money raised in political campaigns and the obligations that are or can appear to be associated with these contributions. With the influence of dark money on political campaigns, the role of public financing becomes more crucial than ever.
Hawaii established a partial public funding program to allow candidates running for elective office to run a competitive campaign by awarding moneys from the State. To qualify for partial public financing, a candidate is required to raise a set minimal amount, which the State will match. The legislature believes that expanding the current program will allow a wider breadth of candidates to run for office and will dampen the influence or perceived influence of private money on political campaigns.
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to increase campaign financing opportunities for candidates running for a county office.
SECTION 2. Chapter 11, part XIII, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new subpart to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
" . Comprehensive Public Funding for County
Elections
§11-A Definitions. When used in this subpart, unless the context
clearly requires otherwise:
"Candidate" means an individual who seeks nomination for election or seeks election for a county office.
"Candidate's committee" means a candidate committee, as defined in section 11-302, that makes an expenditure or accepts a contribution on behalf of a candidate for nomination for election or election to a county elected position, with the candidate's authorization.
"Certification for public funding" means the decision by the commission that a candidate is certified to receive public funding in accordance with this subpart.
"Certified candidate" or "publicly-funded candidate" means a candidate who is certified by the commission as eligible for public funding under this subpart and who agrees to abide by the requirements of this subpart.
"Declaration of intent to seek public funding" means the form completed by a candidate seeking public funding, the filing of which triggers the candidate's ability to begin collecting qualifying names and contributions.
"Excess expenditure" means the amount of public funds spent or obligated to be spent by a publicly-funded candidate in excess of one hundred per cent of the allocated funds for a primary election, general election, or both.
"General election campaign period" means the period beginning the day after the primary election and ending on general election day.
"General election year" means the period commencing January 1 of an even-numbered year in which a general election is held and ending on the general election day.
"Primary election campaign period" means the period in a general election year beginning with the certification for public funding under this subpart and ending on the primary election day.
"Public funding" or "public funds" means campaign funds from the Hawaii election campaign fund under section 11-421, received by a certified candidate pursuant to this subpart.
"Qualifying contribution" means a monetary contribution made in the form of a check or a money order accompanied by a signed receipt that confirms that the contributor purchased the money order, payable to the Hawaii election campaign fund for purposes of meeting the criteria of section 11-E.
"Seed money" means contributions made to a candidate by an individual in accordance with section 11-D and expended for the purpose of determining campaign viability.
"Surplus campaign funds" means any campaign contributions not spent during a prior election period by a candidate who previously sought nomination or election as a privately-funded candidate.
§11-B Applicability. There is established a public funding program under this subpart for all county elections beginning with the 2022 elections.
§11-C Qualifications for
public funding for county election candidates. (a) A
candidate may seek public funding for the primary election campaign period if
the candidate:
(1) Resides in the county from which election is sought as of the date of the filing of nomination papers for the primary election in the general election year in which the candidate seeks to be nominated or elected;
(2) Is a registered voter in the county from which election is sought;
(3) Files a declaration of intent to seek public funding with the commission between December 1 of the year prior to the general election year and thirty days before the closing date to file nomination papers to run for the office for which the candidate intends to seek election;
(4) Collects qualifying names and contributions in accordance with section 11-E;
(5) Accepts only the following contributions prior to applying for certification as a publicly-funded candidate:
(A) Seed money contributions until the candidate files a declaration of intent to seek public funding; and
(B) Qualifying contributions that may be accepted only after filing the declaration of intent to seek public funding; and
(6) Files an application for certification for public funding with the commission.
(b) A candidate is qualified to seek public funding for the general election campaign period if the candidate:
(1) Was certified as a publicly-funded candidate during the primary election campaign period immediately preceding the general election in which the funds under this subpart are provided; and
(2) Received a sufficient number of votes to appear on the ballot in the general election or is otherwise certified by the county clerk to be placed on the ballot in the general election.
§11-D Seed money
contributions; limitations on use of seed money; penalties. (a)
The use of seed money shall be limited to expenditures necessary to
determine whether sufficient support exists for a candidate to run for office
as a publicly-funded candidate; provided that no candidate shall be eligible to
receive public funds under this subpart unless the candidate has received or
expended at least $
in seed money.
(b) The amount of seed money received, expended, or both, by a candidate seeking eligibility for public funding for a county elected seat shall not exceed $3,000, which shall include any personal funds, surplus campaign funds, or contributions received from individuals in an aggregate amount no greater than $200 each that the candidate may choose to use.
(c) A candidate seeking eligibility for public funding shall not accept contributions of seed money from any individual whose contributions are prohibited under subpart E or for which the information required to be reported pursuant to section 11-I(h) is not available. The candidate or candidate's committee shall record all information required for reporting under section 11-I(h). All contributors whose seed money has been accepted shall be issued a receipt by the candidate.
(d) Seed money shall not be collected after the candidate has filed the declaration of intent to seek public funding, which shall be filed no later than thirty days prior to the closing date to file nomination papers to run for the office for which the candidate intends to seek election. The candidate shall spend seed money only until the candidate is certified by the commission as a publicly-funded candidate or the closing date to file nomination papers to run for the office for which the candidate intends to seek election, whichever occurs first.
(e) Any unspent seed money shall be deducted from the amount of public funding provided to the certified candidate if the certified candidate does not donate the unspent seed money to the Hawaii election campaign fund.
(f) A certified candidate who has surplus campaign funds from a previous election is prohibited from using those funds for any purpose. The surplus campaign funds shall be frozen and maintained in a separate depository account from that established for the public funds under section 11-L; provided that funds used for seed money shall be deposited according to section 11-L(a). The candidate shall continue to file reports on the surplus campaign funds in accordance with subpart D, or as otherwise may be required by the commission.
§11-E Application for public funds; qualifying
names; qualifying contributions. (a) Candidates
seeking certification for public funding for a county office shall submit an
application for certification that contains at least one hundred printed
qualifying names, with addresses and signatures, that shall be accompanied by a
qualifying contribution of $5, in the same name.
(b) To be counted as a qualifying name, with or
without an accompanying qualifying
contribution, the name shall be from an individual who is a
registered voter and who resides within the respective county from which
the candidate seeks nomination or election at the time the
contribution is given. Nothing of value
shall be given to the individual in exchange for the qualifying contribution.
(c) No candidate shall collect any qualifying
name, with or without an accompanying qualifying contribution, prior to the
candidate filing a declaration of intent to seek public funding with the
commission.
(d) Any receipt for a qualifying contribution
shall be made in a form prescribed by the commission pursuant to section 11-O.
(e)
All qualifying contributions collected
by a candidate, whether or not the candidate is certified, shall be deposited
into the Hawaii election campaign fund.
(f)
The application for certification shall contain any other information
deemed necessary and appropriate by the commission and include a
self-subscribing oath for the candidate and the candidate's campaign treasurer
to swear to the truth of the allegations in the application. The application shall be submitted to the
commission no later than thirty days prior to the primary election and shall be
signed by the candidate and the candidate's campaign treasurer.
§11-F Certification of qualification for public funds. (a) The commission, in coordination with the clerk for the county from which election is sought, shall verify that:
(1) At least the minimum required qualifying names and qualifying contributions were received from registered voters in the county from which the candidate seeks election;
(2) The candidate resides in the county from which election is sought as of the date of the filing of nomination papers; and
(3) The candidate is a registered voter in the county from which election is sought.
The county clerk shall provide to the commission the information required to verify qualifying names and contributions and the candidate's residency and voter registration status, including the names, addresses, and signatures of registered voters in that county collected pursuant to section 11-E.
(b) The commission shall issue a decision to certify or deny certification of a candidate as a publicly-funded candidate within ten business days following receipt of the candidate's completed application for certification for the receipt of public funds.
(c) After a candidate is certified, the candidate's certification shall apply to the primary and the general elections.
(d) Initial certification and all determinations by the commission under this section are final and conclusive, except to the extent that they are subject to examination and audit by the commission under section 11-434.
(e) Any certified candidate elected to the office sought may choose to remain in the public funding program in successive elections and shall not be required to resubmit an application for certification if the certified candidate:
(1) Is a candidate for reelection to the same office in successive elections; and
(2) Has not sought election to any other office during the period between elections.
§11-G
Public funds to be distributed to
certified candidates. (a) Each certified candidate for a county
election shall receive public
funding of four times the first $50 of each donation, or four times the
amount of every donation received up to $50; provided that the candidate agrees
to cap all donations at $200. The maximum amount of public funding available in each
election to a certified candidate for a county election shall not exceed the amount expended by the candidate who was elected to the
office sought in the previous election period; provided that if an opponent
expends an amount greater than the amount expended by the candidate who was
elected to the office sought in the previous election period, the maximum
amount of public funding available shall be based on the last report filed by
the opponent.
(b) Upon the commission's approval of the application and statement of qualifying contributions, the commission shall direct the comptroller to distribute the public funds allowed by this section from the Hawaii election campaign fund by check or, when possible, by an automatic transfer of funds. Public funds shall be distributed to the candidate within twenty days from the date that the candidate's initial application and qualifying contribution statement is approved by the commission.
(c) The commission shall be under no obligation to provide moneys to a candidate if moneys in the Hawaii election campaign fund are near depletion as determined by the commission pursuant to section 11-P.
§11-H
Contributions
and expenditures; penalties. (a) A certified candidate shall comply with the
following restrictions on contributions and expenditures:
(1) Upon certification for public funding and until the end of the general election campaign period, a candidate shall not accept for use in the campaign:
(A) Contributions from any person;
(B) Loans from any person, including a certified candidate;
(C) Contributions from political parties; or
(D) Any campaign material purchased or held from a date prior to filing the declaration of intent to seek public funds; and
(2) Upon certification for public funding and until the end of the general election campaign period, a candidate shall not expend for campaign purposes:
(A) Any money except public funds issued by the commission;
(B) Public funds for purposes other than those permitted in this subpart; or
(C) Public funds outside the applicable campaign period.
(b) A certified candidate who accepts contributions in violation of this section shall be subject to a fine equal to three times the public funding received, in addition to any other action, fines, or prosecution under section 11-N and subpart I, or any applicable provision of the Hawaii Penal Code.
(c) A certified candidate who makes expenditures of more than one hundred per cent of the public funds allocated to the candidate shall repay to the Hawaii election campaign fund an amount equal to three times the excess expenditures.
§11-I Publicly-funded candidate; reporting. (a) A certified candidate and the certified candidate's committee shall furnish to the commission complete campaign records, including all records of seed money contributions, qualifying contributions, and expenditures. A certified candidate shall fully cooperate with any audit or examination by the commission.
(b) The reporting requirements for certified candidates under this subpart or that may be required by the commission shall be in addition to any other reporting requirement under this part.
(c) An individual who uses seed money to determine whether sufficient support exists to run for office as a publicly-funded candidate and who is not already registered with the commission shall register as a candidate by filing the organizational report required by section 11-321, within ten days of receiving more than $100 in seed money, either from contributions or personal funds.
(d) All reports required by subpart D, seed money reports, and post-election reports shall be filed with the commission.
(e) Seed money reports shall be filed with the commission no later than:
(1) January 31 of a general election year;
(2) April 30 of a general election year; and
(3) Twenty days prior to the primary election.
(f) Each report shall be current through:
(1) The six-month period ending on December 31 for the report filed on January 31;
(2) The three-month period ending on March 31 for the report filed on April 30; and
(3) Thirty days prior to the primary election for the report filed twenty days prior to the primary election.
(g) The seed money reports shall include:
(1) The candidate committee's name and address;
(2) The amount of cash on hand at the beginning of the reporting period;
(3) The reporting period and aggregate total for each of the following categories:
(A) Contributions;
(B) Expenditures; and
(C) Other receipts; and
(4) The cash on hand at the end of the reporting period.
(h) Schedules filed with the seed money reports shall also include:
(1) The amount and date of deposit of each contribution and the name and address of each contributor who makes contributions aggregating more than $100 in an election period; provided that if all the information is not on file, the contribution shall be returned to the contributor within thirty days of deposit;
(2) All expenditures made, including the name and address of each payee and the amount, date, and purpose of each expenditure. Expenditures for consultants, advertising agencies and similar firms, credit card payments, salaries, and candidate reimbursements shall be itemized to permit a reasonable person to determine the ultimate intended recipient of the expenditure and its purpose; and
(3) The amount, date of deposit, and description of other receipts and the name and address of the source of each of the other receipts.
(i) Post-election reports shall be submitted to the commission no later than twenty days after a primary election and no later than thirty days after a general election certifying that all public funds paid to the certified candidate have been used as required by this subpart. The post-election reports shall include information regarding all expenditures made, including the name and address of each payee and the amount, date, and purpose of each expenditure. Expenditures for consultants, advertising agencies and similar firms, credit card payments, salaries, and candidate reimbursements shall be itemized to permit a reasonable person to determine the ultimate intended recipient of the expenditure and its purpose.
(j) All certified candidates shall file the reports required under this subpart by electronic means in the manner prescribed by the commission.
§11-J Publicly-funded candidate; continuing obligation. (a) A certified candidate shall comply with all requirements under this subpart through the general election campaign period, except as provided in subsection (d), regardless of whether the certified candidate maintains eligibility for public funding in the general election campaign period.
(b) Except for seed money contributions and qualifying contributions, a certified candidate who is elected to the office sought shall not accept private contributions from any person until either September 1 of the next odd-numbered year following the general election in which the candidate was last elected, or the date when the commission determines there are insufficient funds under section 11-P, whichever occurs earlier.
(c) If a certified candidate withdraws from the primary election or the general election, all unexpended public funds received by the candidate under this subpart shall be returned to the Hawaii election campaign fund within thirty days after withdrawal.
(e) A certified candidate who is not successful in the primary or general election shall return all unexpended public funds received by the certified candidate under this subpart to the Hawaii election campaign fund within thirty days after the election in which the candidate was not successful.
§11-K Public
funding; permitted uses. (a)
Public funds shall be used only for the purpose of defraying expenses
directly related to the certified candidate's campaign during the primary or
general election campaign period for which the public funds are allocated.
(b) A candidate receiving funds under this subpart or the candidate's campaign treasurer shall not transfer any portion of the funds provided under this subpart to any other candidate for another campaign.
§11-L Deposit of, and
access to, public funds. (a)
All public funds and seed money received by a certified candidate shall
be deposited directly into a depository institution as provided under section
11-351(a) and section 11-D(f) and accessed through the use of debit cards and
bank checks. No expenditure of public funds
received under this subpart shall be made except by debit cards or bank checks
drawn on the account.
(b) All reports required under subpart D and this subpart for financial disclosure shall include the most recent, available bank statement from the depository institution holding the public funds, as attested to by the candidate's committee.
§11-M Deposit of money
into the Hawaii election campaign fund. The following moneys shall be deposited into
the Hawaii election campaign fund established under section 11-421:
(1) Appropriations made by the legislature for the purposes of this subpart;
(2) Excess seed money contributions;
(3) Qualifying contributions, including any excess qualifying contributions of certified candidates;
(4) Unspent public funds distributed to any certified candidate;
(5) Fines levied by the commission for violation of this subpart; and
(6) Voluntary donations made for the purposes of this subpart.
§11-N Violations;
penalties. Any
candidate who knowingly seeks or receives contributions, attempts to take any
action, or takes any action to fraudulently qualify for or receive public
funding shall:
(1) Have the candidate's certification for public funding revoked. Upon revocation of certification, the certified candidate shall repay all public funds received within ten business days to the Hawaii election campaign fund; and
(2) Be subject to fines and penalties as specifically provided in this subpart and other fines or penalties pursuant to sections 11-410 and 11-412, and the Hawaii Penal Code.
§11-O Forms; receipts; candidate guide. The commission shall create and publish all forms and receipts required as well as a candidates' guide to the comprehensive public funding program that shall include an explanation of rules and procedures applicable to candidates.
§11-P Sufficiency of funding for comprehensive
public funding.
On September 1 of each odd-numbered year before a general election year,
the commission shall determine whether there is a minimum of $3,500,000 in the
Hawaii election campaign fund established under section 11-421 to certify
candidates during the next election and provide funding for the comprehensive
public funding program authorized under this subpart.
If
the commission determines that there is sufficient funding, then within five
business days, the commission shall publish notice statewide, pursuant to
section 1-28.5, that the comprehensive public funding program shall become
effective on January 1 of the following year. If there is insufficient funding, sections
11-C through 11-H shall be inoperative until the commission next determines
that sufficient funding is available pursuant to this section."
SECTION 3. Section 11-421, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"[[]§11-421[]] Hawaii election campaign fund; creation. (a)
The Hawaii election campaign fund is created as a trust fund within the
state treasury.
(b) The fund shall consist of:
(1) All moneys collected from persons who have designated a portion of their income tax liability to the fund as provided in section 235-102.5(a);
(2) Any general fund
appropriations; [and]
(3) All
moneys designated for deposit into the fund pursuant to section 11-M; and
[(3)] (4)
Other moneys collected pursuant to this part.
(c)
Moneys in the fund shall be paid to candidates by the comptroller as
prescribed in [section] sections 11-431 and 11-G and may
be used for the commission's operating expenses, including staff salaries and
fringe benefits."
SECTION 4. Section 11-431, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
"(a) Upon the commission's approval of the application
and statement of qualifying contributions, the commission shall direct the
comptroller to distribute matching public funds up to the maximum amount of
public funds allowed by section 11-425[.] or section 11-G(a) by check
or, when possible, by an automatic transfer of funds. Public funds shall be distributed to the
candidate within twenty days from the date that the candidate's initial
application and qualifying contribution statement is approved by the
commission."
SECTION 5. The campaign spending commission shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2022 on further statutory amendments to best facilitate the implementation of this Act.
SECTION 6. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2020-2021 for deposit into the Hawaii election campaign fund under section 11-421, Hawaii Revised Statutes.
The sum appropriated shall be disbursed by the campaign spending commission consistent with chapter 11, part XIII, subpart , Hawaii Revised Statutes, and the purposes of this Act.
SECTION 7. There is appropriated out of the Hawaii election campaign fund under section 11-421, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2020-2021 in preparing for the public funding of candidates in elections taking place in 2022, including full-time equivalent ( FTE), temporary positions.
The sum appropriated shall be expended by the campaign spending commission for the purposes of this Act.
SECTION 8. In codifying the new sections added by section 2 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.
SECTION 9. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 10. This Act shall take effect on January 28, 2081.
Report Title:
Campaign Finance; Publicly Funded Elections; Counties
Description:
Creates a comprehensive public funding program for candidates for county elections beginning in 2022. Appropriates funds to the Campaign Spending Commission. Effective 1/28/2081. (SD1)
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
