STAND. COM. REP. NO. 207

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 203

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 S.B. No. 203 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COMPLAINTS ALLEGING VIOLATIONS OF CAMPAIGN SPENDING LAWS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to allow the Campaign Spending Commission to treat a respondent's failure to explain or otherwise respond to a complaint alleging a violation of campaign spending laws as an admission that a violation has occurred.

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

Your Committee finds that currently, the Campaign Spending Commission has to make repeated attempts to communicate with a respondent regarding a complaint alleging a violation of campaign spending laws before putting the matter on a meeting agenda for action. This wastes the Campaign Spending Commission's time and resources. This measure will allow the Campaign Spending Commission to timely process complaints in cases where the Campaign Spending Commission has given notice of a complaint to the respondent and the respondent fails to respond.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Specifying that a respondent's failure to explain or otherwise respond to a complaint may be treated as a presumption, rather than an admission, that the violation has occurred; and

(2) Specifying that the respondent shall have thirty days from the mailing of the complaint to respond before the presumption takes effect.

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. 203, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 203, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

________________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair