STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1236

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 463

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 463 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to lower the threshold for disclosure of campaign expenditures for noncandidate committees to $100.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from two individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Campaign Spending Commission.

Your Committee finds that the State has sufficiently important government interests in an informed electorate, deterring corruption and the appearance of corruption, and gathering the data necessary to detect campaign spending violations. Campaign disclosure requirements directly serve these sufficiently important government interests. The State's existing campaign finance laws fail to reveal the source of campaign expenditures for noncandidate committees when the expenditures are under $1,000. Because of this arbitrary limit, there is a lack of transparency that fails to inform the public about who is trying to influence an election. This measure will enhance transparency by lowering the threshold for disclosure of campaign expenditures, thus providing greater accountability and public awareness.

Your Committee has amended this measure by inserting an effective date of March 22, 2075, to encourage further discussion.

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 H.B. No. 463, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 463, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

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KARL RHOADS, Chair