STAND. COM. REP. NO.  946

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2009

 

RE:   H.B. No. 215

      H.D. 2

 

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 215, H.D. 1, entitled:

 

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

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this bill is to update, organize, clarify, and recodify Hawaii campaign-finance laws.

 

     The Hawaii Transportation Association testified in support of this bill.  The Campaign Spending Commission (CSC), League of Women Voters of Hawaii, Americans for Democratic Action-Hawaii, Common Cause Hawaii, and a concerned individual provided comments on this measure.

 

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

 

     (1)  Clarifying that the CSC has discretion in determining and issuing fine amounts for certain campaign spending violations;

 

(2)  Inserting provisions that restrict individual contributions to a non-candidate committee to an aggregate amount of not more than $2,000 during a two-year election period;

 

(3)  Limiting to $50,000 in any two-year election period the aggregate amount that a company may contribute from its treasury to the company's established non-candidate committee;

 

(4)  Requiring a company making contributions and expenditures greater than $1,000 in the aggregate in a two-year election period to register a non-candidate committee with the CSC and make contributions and expenditures through the company's registered non-candidate committee;

 

(5)  Specifying that contribution limits to candidate committees and non-candidate committees are not applicable to a ballot issue committee;

 

     (6)  Inserting provisions that stipulate that non-resident contributions must not exceed 20 percent of the total contributions received by a candidate or candidate committee for each two-year election period;

 

     (7)  Stipulating that the non-resident contribution limit does not apply to a candidate's immediate family;

 

     (8)  Providing a 30-day grace period for excess or contributions to be returned to the donor by a candidate or candidate committee;

 

     (9)  Changing its effective date to January 1, 2010; and

 

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

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 215, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 215, H.D. 2.

 

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

 

____________________________ MARCUS R. OSHIRO, Chair