Bill Text: HI SB3243 | 2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relating To Campaign Finance.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2024-03-19 - Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Belatti, Hashem, Kong, Sayama excused (4). [SB3243 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2024-SB3243-Amended.html
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
3243 |
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THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
H.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:
The legislature further finds that the United States government has concluded that Russia, China, Iran, and other foreign actors are engaged in ongoing campaigns to undermine democratic institutions, as set forth in the joint statement "Combating Foreign Influence in United States Elections", issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and United States Department of Homeland Security on October 19, 2018. The FBI has concluded that foreign-influenced activities include "criminal efforts to suppress voting and provide illegal campaign financing," as set forth in FBI Director Christopher Wray's press briefing on election security on August 2, 2018.
The legislature also finds that the United States Congress and the United States Supreme Court recognize the need to protect American elections from foreign influence through the ban on contributions and expenditures by foreign nationals imposed by title 52 United States Code section 30121, upheld by the Supreme Court in Bluman v. Federal Election Commission, 800 F.Supp.2d 281 (D.D.C. 2011), affirmed, 565 U.S. 1104 (2012). Several states, including Hawaii, have enacted similar laws that ban foreign nationals from making contributions or expenditures in connection with state or local elections.
The legislature further finds that former President Barack Obama warned of foreign corporate spending in state elections. Political spending by foreign entities can weaken, interfere with, or disrupt a state's democratic self-government and the trust that the electorate has in its elected representatives. In Hawaii, both foreign nationals and foreign corporations are prohibited from making contributions or expenditures to or on behalf of a candidate, candidate committee, or noncandidate committee. However, more can be done to protect the integrity of Hawaii's democratic self-government from foreign entities that seek to influence Hawaii's elections through political spending.
The purpose of this Act is to protect the State's democratic self-governance by:
(1) Amending the prohibition against campaign finance contributions and expenditures by foreign nationals and foreign corporations;
(2) Requiring every business entity that contributes or expends funds in an election to file a statement of certification regarding its status as a foreign corporation; and
(3) Requiring noncandidate committees making only independent expenditures to obtain a statement of certification from each top contributor required to be listed in an advertisement.
""Business entity" means a for-profit corporation, company, limited liability company, limited partnership, business trust, business association, or other similar for-profit business entity."
SECTION 3. Section 11-356, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"[[]§11-356[]] Contributions and expenditures by a
foreign national or foreign corporation; prohibited. (a) [Except
as provided in subsection (b), no] No contributions or expenditures
shall be made to or on behalf of a candidate, candidate committee, or
noncandidate committee[,] by a foreign national or foreign corporation, including
a domestic subsidiary of a foreign corporation, [a] domestic corporation
that is owned by a foreign national, or [a] local subsidiary where
administrative control is retained by the foreign corporation[, and in the
same manner prohibited under 2 United States Code section 441e and 11 Code of
Federal Regulations section 110.20, as amended.
(b) A foreign-owned domestic corporation may make
contributions if:
(1) Foreign
national individuals do not participate in election-related activities,
including decisions concerning contributions or the administration of a
candidate committee or noncandidate committee; or
(2) The
contributions are domestically-derived].
(b) No independent expenditures or electioneering
communications shall be made by a foreign national or foreign corporation.
(c)
No contribution or donation shall be made to any person by a
foreign national or foreign corporation if the contribution or donation is
earmarked for the recipient to make a campaign finance contribution or
expenditure, including independent expenditure or electioneering communication.
(d) Every business entity that contributes to or
makes an expenditure on behalf of a candidate, candidate committee, or
noncandidate committee, including an independent expenditure or electioneering
communication, shall, within seven business days after making the contribution
or expenditure, file with the commission a statement of certification signed by
the business entity's chief executive officer avowing under penalty of perjury
that, after due inquiry, the business entity was not a foreign corporation on
the date the contribution or expenditure was made. For purposes of this certification, the business
entity shall ascertain beneficial ownership in a manner consistent with the
Hawaii Business Corporation Act or, if it is registered on a national
securities exchange, as set forth in title 17 Code of Federal Regulations
sections 240.13d-3 and 240.13d-5. The
business entity shall provide a copy of the statement of certification to any candidate
or committee to which it contributes and, upon request of the recipient, to any
other person to which it contributes.
(e) For the purposes of this section:
"Chief executive
officer" means the highest-ranking officer or individual having authority
to make decisions regarding a business entity's affairs.
"Earmarked" means a
designation or instruction, whether direct or indirect, express or implied,
oral or written, that results in all or any part of the contribution or
donation being expended in a manner that would be prohibited by this section if
made by the foreign national or foreign corporation."
SECTION 4. Section 11-393, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§11-393 Identification of
certain top contributors to noncandidate committees making only independent
expenditures. (a) An advertisement shall contain an additional
notice in a prominent location immediately after or below the notices required
by section 11-391, if the advertisement is broadcast, televised, circulated, or
published, including by electronic means, and is paid for by a noncandidate
committee that certifies to the commission that it makes only independent
expenditures. This additional notice shall
start with the words, "The three top contributors for this advertisement
are", followed by the names of the three top contributors[, as defined
in subsection (e),] who made the highest aggregate contributions to the
noncandidate committee for the purpose of funding the advertisement; provided
that:
(1) If a noncandidate committee is only able to identify two top contributors who made contributions for the purpose of funding the advertisement, the additional notice shall start with the words, "The two top contributors for this advertisement are", followed by the names of the two top contributors;
(2) If a noncandidate committee is able to identify only one top contributor who made contributions for the purpose of funding the advertisement, the additional notice shall start with the words, "The top contributor for this advertisement is", followed by the name of the top contributor;
(3) If a noncandidate committee is unable to identify any top contributors who made contributions for the purpose of funding the advertisement, the additional notice shall start with the words, "The three top contributors for this noncandidate committee are", followed by the names of the three top contributors who made the highest aggregate contributions to the noncandidate committee; and
(4) If there are no top contributors to the noncandidate committee, the noncandidate committee shall not be subject to this section.
In no case shall a noncandidate committee be required to identify more than three top contributors pursuant to this section.
(b) If a noncandidate committee has more than three top contributors who contributed in equal amounts, the noncandidate committee may select which of the top contributors to identify in the advertisement; provided that the top contributors not identified in the advertisement did not make a higher aggregate contribution than those top contributors who are identified in the advertisement. The additional notice required for noncandidate committees described under this subsection shall start with the words "Three of the top contributors for this advertisement are" or "Three of the top contributors to this noncandidate committee are", as appropriate, followed by the names of the three top contributors.
(c)
This section shall not apply to advertisements broadcast by radio or
television of [such] short duration that including a list of top
contributors in the advertisement would constitute a hardship to the
noncandidate committee paying for the advertisement. A noncandidate committee shall be subject to
all other requirements under this part regardless of whether a hardship exists
pursuant to this subsection. The
commission shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to establish criteria to
determine when including a list of top contributors in an advertisement of
short duration constitutes a hardship to a noncandidate committee under this
subsection.
(d) A noncandidate committee shall obtain a statement of certification from each top contributor required to be listed in an advertisement pursuant to this section avowing under penalty of perjury that, after due inquiry, none of the funds contributed by the top contributor were derived from a foreign corporation. If a noncandidate committee does not receive a statement of certification from a top contributor, the advertisement shall include the following statement: "Some of the funds used to pay for this message may have been provided by foreign corporation". A noncandidate committee may rely on a statement of certification provided by a top contributor unless the noncandidate committee has actual knowledge that the statement of certification is false.
[(d)] (e) Any noncandidate committee that violates this
section shall be subject to a minimum fine of $1,000 per violation.
[(e)] (f) For purposes of this section, "top
contributor" means a contributor who has contributed an aggregate amount
of $10,000 or more to a noncandidate committee within a twelve-month period
before the purchase of an advertisement."
SECTION 5. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to diminish or infringe upon any right protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States or conflict with any federal statute or regulation.
SECTION 6. If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the Act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are severable.
SECTION 7. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.
SECTION 8. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 9. This Act shall take effect on January 1, 3000.
Report Title:
Campaign Finance; Foreign Corporations; Foreign Nationals
Description:
Amends the prohibition against foreign nationals and foreign corporations making campaign finance contributions and expenditures. Requires every business entity that contributes or expends funds in a state election to file a statement of certification regarding its limited foreign influence. Requires noncandidate committees making only independent expenditures to obtain a statement of certification from each top contributor required to be listed in an advertisement. Effective 1/1/3000. (HD1)
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
