STAND. COM. REP. NO. 210

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 643

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 643 entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require that any over-limit contributions made to a candidate by resident and nonresident contributors be returned within thirty days of receipt of the contributions; and

(2) Provide that excess contributions shall escheat to the Hawaii election campaign fund if not returned to the contributor within thirty days.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Campaign Spending Commission and one individual.

Your Committee finds that procedures for dealing with over-limit contributions to candidates, candidate committees, and noncandidate committees in general are provided for within the State's campaign finance law. Your Committee further finds that contributions made by nonresident contributors are not included within these procedures. This measure will add over-limit contributions by nonresident contributors to the existing procedures for dealing with over-limit contributions in general.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting existing statutory amendments and replacing them with an amendment that more efficiently regulates excess contributions; 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 that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 643, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 643, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

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KARL RHOADS, Chair