STAND. COM. REP. NO.  920

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2011

 

RE:   H.B. No. 257

      H.D. 2

 

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 257, H.D. 1, entitled:

 

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

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this bill is to increase the transparency of the electoral system by expanding reporting requirements and modifying reporting deadlines by, among other things:

 

     (1)  Defining "address", "automated phone call", and "matching payment period" to provide clarity to the State's Campaign Finance Law;

 

     (2)  Providing that the information required in an advertisement, such as identifying the person paying for or placing the advertisement and the approval and authority of the candidate, be stated at the beginning of an advertisement via automated phone call;

 

     (3)  Imposing a $100 fine for the late filing or failure to file, as the case may be, an organizational report, electioneering communication statement of information, notice of intent to hold a fundraiser, and public funds report;

 

    

     (4)  Requiring that reports of candidate or noncandidate committees that are filed electronically be certified as true and correct by the candidate or specified officers of the committee, or both, depending on the type of committee;

 

     (5)  Revising existing preliminary report filing dates and establishing new supplemental report filing dates for candidate committees;

 

     (6)  Requiring noncandidate committees to include in their reports:

 

          (A)  Contribution information, including the amount, date, and the name and address of the candidate committee or noncandidate committee to which the contribution was made; and

 

          (B)  For independent expenditures, the name of the candidate who is supported or opposed by the expenditure;

 

     (7)  Establishing an unspecified maximum price for the purchase of tickets for events held by another candidate or noncandidate committee when using campaign funds;

 

     (8)  Limiting qualifying contributions to no more than $100 during each matching payment period for purposes of receiving public campaign funds; and

 

     (9)  Repealing the income tax deduction for contributions to candidates qualifying for voluntary campaign expenditure limits.

 

     The Campaign Spending Commission testified in support of this bill.  Americans for Democratic Action Hawaii and Common Cause Hawaii provided comments.

 

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

 

     (1)  Correcting statutory references to sections that authorize the collection of fines for the failure to file or the filing of a substantially defective or deficient campaign spending report;

 

     (2)  Adding a savings clause; and

 

     (3)  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. 257, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 257, H.D. 2.

 

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

 

 

		____________________________ MARCUS R. OSHIRO, Chair