REPORT TITLE:
Campaign Contributions


DESCRIPTION:
Amends the definition of contribution to include gifts to
committees and adds new definition regarding national affiliates.
Provides that political parties shall be subject to the same
contribution limits applicable to persons and other entities,
with the exception of political committees established and
maintained by a national party.  (HB165 CD1)


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        165
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           H.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII                                            C.D. 1
                                                             
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                     A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO ELECTIONS.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  Section 11-191, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended by adding a new definition to read as follows:
 
 3      ""Political committees established and maintained by a
 
 4 national political party" means:
 
 5      (1) The National Committee;
 
 6      (2) The House Campaign Committee; and
 
 7      (3) The Senate Committee."
 
 8      SECTION 2.  Section 11-191, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 9 amended by amending the definition of "contribution" to read as
 
10 follows:
 
11      ""Contribution" means:
 
12      (1)  A gift, subscription, deposit of money or anything of
 
13           value, or cancellation of a debt or legal obligation
 
14           and includes the purchase of tickets to fundraisers for
 
15           the purpose of:
 
16           (A)  Influencing the nomination for election, or
 
17                election, of any person to office;
 
18           (B)  Influencing the outcome of any question or issue
 
19                that appears or is reasonably certain to appear on
 

 
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 1                the ballot at the next applicable election
 
 2                described in subparagraph (A); or
 
 3           (C)  Use by any party or committee for the purposes set
 
 4                out in subparagraph (A) or (B);
 
 5      (2)  The payment, by any person, political party, or any
 
 6           other entity other than a candidate or committee, of
 
 7           compensation for the personal services or services of
 
 8           another person [which] that are rendered to the
 
 9           candidate or committee without charge or at an
 
10           unreasonably low charge for the purposes set out in
 
11           paragraph (1)(A), (1)(B), or (1)(C);
 
12      (3)  A contract, promise, or agreement to make a
 
13           contribution; provided that notwithstanding this
 
14           paragraph and paragraphs (1) and (2), the term
 
15           "contributions" shall not include services or portions
 
16           thereof voluntarily provided without reasonable
 
17           compensation by individuals to or in behalf of a
 
18           candidate or committee; or
 
19      (4)  Notwithstanding paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), a
 
20           candidate's expenditure of the candidate's own funds or
 
21           the making of a loan or advance in the pursuit of the
 
22           candidate's campaign shall not be a contribution for
 
23           the purpose of this subpart but shall nevertheless be
 

 
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 1           reportable as a campaign receipt."
 
 2      SECTION 3.  Section 11-204, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 3 amended as follows:
 
 4      1.  By amending subsection (a) to read:
 
 5      "(a)  No person, political party, political committees
 
 6 established and maintained by a national political party, or any
 
 7 other entity shall make contributions to:
 
 8      (1)  A candidate seeking nomination or election to a two-
 
 9           year office or to the candidate's committee in an
 
10           aggregate amount greater than $2,000 during an election
 
11           period; [and]
 
12      (2)  A candidate seeking nomination or election to a four-
 
13           year statewide office or to the candidate's committee
 
14           in an aggregate amount greater than $6,000 during an
 
15           election period; and
 
16      (3)  A candidate seeking nomination or election to a four-
 
17           year nonstatewide office or to the candidate's
 
18           committee in an aggregate amount greater than $4,000
 
19           during an election period. 
 
20      These limits shall not apply to a loan made to a candidate
 
21 by a financial institution in the ordinary course of business."
 
22      2.  By amending subsection (f) to read:
 
23      "(f)  All payments made by a person or political party whose
 

 
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 1 contributions or expenditure activity is financed, maintained, or
 
 2 controlled by any corporation, labor organization, association,
 
 3 political party, or any other person or committee, including any
 
 4 parent, subsidiary, branch, division, department, or local unit
 
 5 of the corporation, labor organization, association, political
 
 6 party,political committees established and maintained by a
 
 7 national political party, or any other person, or by any group of
 
 8 those persons shall be considered to be made by a single
 
 9 person[.] or political party."
 
10      3. By amending subsection (1) to read as follows:
 
11      "(1) No person or any other entity other than political
 
12 committees established and maintained by a national political
 
13 party shall make contributions to a political party in an
 
14 aggregate amount greater than [$50,000] $25,000 in any two-year
 
15 election period.  No political committee established and
 
16 maintained by a national political party, shall make
 
17 contributions to a political party in an aggregate amount greater
 
18 than $50,000 in any two year election period."
 
19      SECTION 4.  Section 11-205, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
20 amended to read as follows:
 
21      "�11-205  Campaign contributions; limits as to political
 
22 parties.  [(a)  No political party shall make contributions to a
 
23 candidate in any calendar year in an aggregate amount greater
 

 
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 1 than the following amounts for each respective office:
 
 2      (1)  For the office of governor--$50,000;
 
 3      (2)  For the office of lieutenant governor--$40,000;
 
 4      (3)  For the partisan offices of mayor and prosecuting
 
 5           attorney--$25,000;
 
 6      (4)  For the offices of state senator and partisan county
 
 7           council member--$20,000; and
 
 8      (5)  For the office of state representative--$15,000.
 
 9      (b)  For the purposes of this section, a] A contribution to
 
10 a political party which is earmarked for a particular candidate
 
11 or candidates shall be promptly distributed to such candidate and
 
12 shall be reported by the candidate upon receipt as an individual
 
13 contribution.  Earmarked funds contributed pursuant to this
 
14 section shall be counted:
 
15      (1)  Toward the contribution limit of the political party
 
16           donating such funds to a candidate or candidates; and
 
17      (2)  Toward the contribution limit of the person or persons
 
18           contributing such earmarked funds."
 
19      SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
20 New statutory material is underscored.
 
21      SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.