Bill Text: HI HB1147 | 2013 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Campaign Finance; Electioneering Communications; Reporting

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)

Status: (Passed) 2013-06-18 - Act 112, 6/14/2013 (Gov. Msg. No. 1212). [HB1147 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2013-HB1147-Amended.html

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STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1014

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    H.B. No. 1147

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred H.B. No. 1147, H.D. 2, entitled:

 

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

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to enhance the disclosure requirements of Hawaii's campaign finance laws.  Specifically, this measure:

 

     (1)  Establishes disclosure requirements for advertisements by:

 

          (A)  Requiring noncandidate committees that make only independent expenditures to identify certain top contributors in their advertisements, providing an exemption for any noncandidate committee if including a list of top contributors in an advertisement of short duration constitutes a hardship to the noncandidate committee;

 

          (B)  Providing penalties for violations; and

 

          (C)  Defining top contributors;

 

     (2)  Clarifies that any person, as defined in section 11-302, Hawaii Revised Statutes, who fails to file or files a substantially defective or deficient campaign spending report is subject to monitoring and penalties including fines;

 

     (3)  Requires the Campaign Spending Commission (Commission) to make all reports filed with the Commission publicly available on the Commission's website in a searchable database;

 

     (4)  Amends the contribution and expenditure reporting requirements for candidates, candidate committees, and noncandidate committees by requiring noncandidate committees making only independent expenditures to certify that no expenditures have been coordinated with a candidate, candidate committee, or any agent of a candidate or candidate committee;

 

     (5)  Clarifies the filing requirements for late contribution and late expenditure reports for candidates, candidate committees, and noncandidate committees;

 

     (6)  Expands the information required to be included in any statement of information filed with the Commission to report electioneering communication expenditures to include the identities of the individuals who authorized the expenditure, candidates supported or opposed by the communication, and certain top contributors;

 

     (7)  Expands the definition of "electioneering communication" to include any advertisement that is published by electronic means; and

 

     (8)  Repeals filing requirements specific to corporations.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of the Attorney General, Campaign Spending Commission, League of Women Voters of Hawaii, Common Cause Hawaii, Americans for Democratic Action/Hawaii, Open Law Alliance, Community Alliance on Prisons, Life of the Land, and five individuals.  Testimony in opposition to this measure was submitted by one individual.

 

     Your Committee finds that disclosure is an important issue in the election process in light of the dramatic changes in policy regarding corporate contributions, as reflected in the recent decision of the United States Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 130 S. Ct. 876 (2010).  These policy changes have paved the way for unlimited spending by corporations and unions to influence elections.  New super political action committees and other entities are established at the federal and state levels to take advantage of these new pathways for campaign money contributions.  This measure strengthens the State's disclosure requirements under campaign finance laws.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Adopting the amendments suggested by the Department of the Attorney General to:

 

          (A)  Amend the language of the disclosure requirements relating to a noncandidate committee that has more than three top contributors who may be identified in an additional notice to apply to a noncandidate committee that has more than three top contributors who contributed in equal amounts; and

 

          (B)  Insert an effective date of November 5, 2014, to avoid amending campaign finance laws partway through an election period and allow the Campaign Spending Commission sufficient time to implement this measure if it becomes law; and

 

     (2)  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 and Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1147, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1147, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

 

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

 

		____________________________ CLAYTON HEE, Chair