REPORT TITLE: 
Campaign Expenditure Limits


DESCRIPTION:
Amends the State campaign spending laws concerning the voluntary
expenditure limit and public matching fund program. 
(SD1)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        72
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                     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 amending the definition of "qualifying campaign
 
 3 contribution" to read as follows:
 
 4      ""Qualifying campaign contribution" means [a] an aggregate
 
 5 monetary contribution of $100 or less, [and not more than $100 of
 
 6 a person's total aggregate monetary contribution.] by any person
 
 7 during any matching payment period.  Qualifying contributions do
 
 8 not include loans or in-kind contributions."
 
 9      SECTION 2.  Section 11-208, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
10 amended to read as follows:
 
11      "§11-208  Voluntary campaign expenditure limitation.(a)
 
12 Any candidate may voluntarily agree to limit the candidate's
 
13 campaign expenditures and those of the candidate's committee or
 
14 committees and the candidate's party in the candidate's behalf by
 
15 filing an affidavit with the campaign spending commission[;
 
16 provided that a candidate may withdraw the candidate's affidavit
 
17 no later than thirty days prior to a primary election.  Any
 
18 candidate withdrawing the candidate's affidavit shall notify all
 
19 contributors during the election period, in writing, that
 
20 contributions are not tax deductible].
 

 
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 1      (b)  The affidavit shall state that the candidate knows the
 
 2 voluntary campaign expenditure limitations as set out in section
 
 3 11-209 and that the candidate is voluntarily agreeing to limit
 
 4 the candidate's expenditures and those made on the candidate's
 
 5 behalf by the amount set by law.  The affidavit shall be
 
 6 subscribed to by the candidate and notarized.
 
 7      (c)  Affidavits in compliance with this section shall be
 
 8 filed by [January 31 of the year of any primary, special, or
 
 9 general election, or on the date set for filing the candidate's
 
10 organizational report as provided in section 11-196, whichever is
 
11 later.] the time of filing of nomination papers with the chief
 
12 election officer or county clerk."
 
13      SECTION 3.  Section 11-209, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
14 amended to read as follows:
 
15      "§11-209  Campaign expenditures; limits as to amounts.(a)
 
16 From January 1 of the year of any primary, special, or general
 
17 election, the total expenditures for each election for candidates
 
18 who voluntarily agree to limit their campaign expenditures [for
 
19 each election], inclusive of all expenditures made or authorized
 
20 by the candidate alone and all campaign treasurers and committees
 
21 in the candidate's behalf, shall not exceed the following amounts
 
22 expressed respectively multiplied by the number of voters in the
 

 
 
 
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 1 last preceding general election registered to vote in each
 
 2 respective voting district:
 
 3      (1)  For the office of governor--$2.50;
 
 4      (2)  For the office of lieutenant governor--$1.40;
 
 5      (3)  For the office of mayor--$2.00;
 
 6      (4)  For the offices of state senator, state representative,
 
 7           county council member, and prosecuting attorney--$1.40;
 
 8           and
 
 9      (5)  For the offices of the board of education and all other
 
10           offices--20 cents.
 
11      (b)  A candidate or committee who has voluntarily agreed to
 
12 the expenditure limits in this section and who exceeds their
 
13 respective expenditure limits shall pay the full filing fee and
 
14 shall notify all opponents, the chief election officer, [all
 
15 contributors,] and the commission by telephone and in writing the
 
16 day the expenditure limits are exceeded.  All contributors shall
 
17 be notified within thirty days of exceeding the expenditure
 
18 limits.  Notification to contributors shall include an
 
19 announcement that tax deductions based on their contributions are
 
20 no longer available."
 
21      SECTION 4.  Section 11-217.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
22 amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
 
23      "(b)  In the event that the Hawaii election campaign fund is
 
24 close to depletion, as determined by the commission, the
 

 
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 1 commission shall determine the amounts available to qualified
 
 2 candidates based on their order of eligibility in qualifying for
 
 3 public funds, as determined by the date of filing of an
 
 4 [affidavit] application for public funds with the commission
 
 5 pursuant to section [11-208;] 11-222; provided that the
 
 6 [affidavit] application has been accepted by the commission."
 
 7      SECTION 5.  Section 11-218, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 8 amended to read as follows:
 
 9      "§11-218  Candidate funding; amounts available.(a)  The
 
10 maximum amount of public funds available to a candidate for the
 
11 office of governor, lieutenant governor, or mayor in any election
 
12 year shall not exceed one-fifth or twenty per cent of the total
 
13 expenditure limit for each election as established for each
 
14 office [above] listed in this subsection pursuant to section
 
15 11-209.
 
16      (b)  For the office of state senator, state representative,
 
17 county council member, and prosecuting attorney, the maximum
 
18 amount of public funds available to a candidate in any election
 
19 year shall be thirty per cent of the total expenditure limit for
 
20 each election as established for each office listed in this
 
21 subsection pursuant to section 11-209.
 
22      (c)  For the board of education and all other offices, the
 
23 maximum amount of public funds available to a candidate shall not
 

 
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 1 exceed $100 in any election year.
 
 2      (d)  The total amount of public funds for a primary, special
 
 3 primary, or general election to which a candidate is entitled to
 
 4 receive under section 11-221 shall not exceed fifty per cent of
 
 5 the maximum amount of public funds available for the candidate's
 
 6 respective office.  Each candidate who qualified for the maximum
 
 7 amount of public funding in any primary or special primary
 
 8 election and who is a candidate for a subsequent general election
 
 9 shall upon application with the commission be entitled to receive
 
10 up to fifty per cent of the balance of public funds available to
 
11 such candidate."
 
12      SECTION 6.  Section 11-219, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
13 amended to read as follows:
 
14      "§11-219  Qualifying campaign contributions; amounts.  As a
 
15 condition of receiving public funds for a primary, special
 
16 primary, or general election, a candidate shall not be unopposed
 
17 in any election for which public funds are sought, and shall have
 
18 filed an affidavit with the commission pursuant to section 11-208
 
19 to voluntarily limit the candidate's campaign expenditures and
 
20 shall be in receipt of the following sum of qualifying campaign
 
21 contributions for the candidate's respective office [for each
 
22 election]:
 

 
 
 
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 1      (1)  For the office of governor--qualifying contributions
 
 2           that in the aggregate, exceed $100,000;
 
 3      (2)  For the office of lieutenant governor--qualifying
 
 4           contributions that in the aggregate, exceed $50,000;
 
 5      (3)  For the office of mayor for each respective county:
 
 6           (A)  County of Honolulu--qualifying contributions that
 
 7                in the aggregate, exceed $50,000;
 
 8           (B)  County of Hawaii--qualifying contributions that in
 
 9                the aggregate, exceed $15,000;
 
10           (C)  County of Maui--qualifying contributions that in
 
11                the aggregate, exceed $10,000; and
 
12           (D)  County of Kauai--qualifying contributions that in
 
13                the aggregate, exceed $5,000; and
 
14      (4)  For the office of prosecuting attorney for each
 
15           respective county:
 
16           (A)  County of Honolulu--qualifying contributions that
 
17                in the aggregate, exceed $30,000;
 
18           (B)  County of Hawaii--qualifying contributions that in
 
19                the aggregate, exceed $10,000; and
 
20           (C)  County of Kauai--qualifying contributions that in
 
21                the aggregate, exceed $5,000;
 
22      (5)  For the office of county council--for each respective
 
23           county:
 

 
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 1           (A)  County of Honolulu--qualifying contributions that
 
 2                in the aggregate, exceed $5,000;
 
 3           (B)  County of Hawaii--qualifying contributions that in
 
 4                the aggregate, exceed $1,500;
 
 5           (C)  County of Maui--qualifying contributions that in
 
 6                the aggregate, exceed $5,000; and
 
 7           (D)  County of Kauai--qualifying contributions that in
 
 8                the aggregate, exceed $3,000;
 
 9      (6)  For the office of [the] state senator--qualifying
 
10           contributions that, in the aggregate, exceed $2,500;
 
11      (7)  For the office of state [house of] representative--
 
12           qualifying contributions that, in the aggregate, exceed
 
13           $1,500; and
 
14      (8)  For all other offices, qualifying contributions that,
 
15           in the aggregate, exceed $500."
 
16      SECTION 7.  Section 11-222, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
17 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
18      "(a)  Application forms for public funds shall be adopted by
 
19 the commission and shall provide for a sworn statement by the
 
20 candidate that the candidate has established eligibility under
 
21 section 11-220 to receive payments under section 11-217.  Each
 
22 application shall be accompanied by a qualifying campaign
 
23 contribution statement or statements, and shall be filed with the
 
24 commission no later than [sixty] thirty days after the general
 

 
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 1 election.  Upon approval by the commission of the application and
 
 2 qualifying contribution statement, the commission shall direct
 
 3 the comptroller to distribute matching public funds up to the
 
 4 maximum of the amount of public funds to which the candidate is
 
 5 entitled.
 
 6      Public funds shall be distributed by the comptroller to each
 
 7 eligible candidate within [ten] twenty days from the date of the
 
 8 candidate's initial application with the commission."
 
 9      SECTION 8.  Section 11-223, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
10 amended to read as follows:
 
11      "§11-223  Candidate funding; restrictions.(a)  Each
 
12 candidate who accepts public campaign funds under this subpart
 
13 shall be required to abide by the campaign spending limits for
 
14 the candidate's respective office as set forth in section 11-209.
 
15 Any candidate who exceeds the spending limits for the candidate's
 
16 respective office as set forth in section 11-209 shall
 
17 immediately return all of the public campaign funds the candidate
 
18 has received to the Hawaii election campaign fund[; provided that
 
19 any candidate who exceeds the limits by no more than one per cent
 
20 shall return twenty-five per cent of the fund].
 
21      (b)  Public campaign funds provided under this subpart shall
 
22 only be used to:
 

 
 
 
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 1      (1)  Defray campaign expenses incurred by and paid for an
 
 2           eligible candidate or all committees authorized by such
 
 3           candidate; and
 
 4      (2)  Repay loans, the proceeds of which were used to defray
 
 5           campaign expenses.
 
 6      (c)  No candidate or committee authorized by a candidate
 
 7 shall be entitled to receive any public funds under this subpart
 
 8 unless the candidate [and at least one other candidate for the
 
 9 same elective seat have] has qualified to have [their names] the
 
10 candidate's name on the election ballot in the [same] election[.]
 
11 for which funds are sought.
 
12      (d)  In no event shall any candidate or campaign treasurer
 
13 in receipt of public campaign funds transfer any portion of such
 
14 funds to another candidate for any primary, special primary,
 
15 special, or general election campaign.
 
16      (e)  All public funds received under this subpart shall be
 
17 deposited in a financial institution designated to do business in
 
18 the State.  No expenditures of any public funds received under
 
19 this subpart shall be made except by checks drawn on such
 
20 checking account.  The commission may require such reports
 
21 relating to the expenditure of such funds as it considers
 
22 appropriate.
 
23      (f)  [Upon] Each candidate, on the deadline for filing of a
 
24 final report for any primary, special primary, special, or
 

 
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 1 general election, [each candidate who has spent an amount below
 
 2 the expenditure limit set for the candidate's respective office,
 
 3 but who has received the maximum amount of public funds allowable
 
 4 for the candidate's respective office,] shall return all
 
 5 unexpended public funds to the Hawaii election campaign fund."
 
 6      SECTION 9.  Act 27, Special Session Laws of Hawaii 1995, as
 
 7 amended by Act 13, Session Laws of Hawaii 1996, is amended by
 
 8 amending section 15 to read as follows:
 
 9      "SECTION 15.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 1995[;]
 
10 provided that [on]:
 
11      (1)  On June 30, 1999, this Act shall be repealed and
 
12           sections 11-1, 11-2, 11-5, 11-191, 11-194, 11-195,
 
13           11-216, 12-8, and 26-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall
 
14           be reenacted in the form in which they read on the day
 
15           before the effective date of this Act.
 
16      (2)  The amendments made by this H.B. No. 72, Session Laws
 
17           of Hawaii 1999, shall not be repealed when the
 
18           provisions in paragraph (1) are reenacted."
 
19      SECTION 10.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
20 New statutory material is underscored.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 1      SECTION 11.  In printing this Act, the revisor of statutes
 
 2 shall substitute in section 9, the number of this Act for the
 
 3 bill identified therein.
 
 4      SECTION 12.  This Act shall take effect on June 29, 1999.