STAND. COM. REP. NO. 681

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 51

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. 51 entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Increase the amount of fines that may be assessed against a noncandidate committee for violations of organizational report requirements;

(2) Increase the amount of fines that may be assessed against noncandidate committees for violations of advertisement disclosure requirements; and

(3) Increase the fines for advertisements paid by noncandidate committees making only independent expenditures.

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

Your Committee finds that campaign spending and disclosure requirements are important to the health of the electoral process. Your Committee further finds that fines and other penalties should be increased to serve as an effective deterrent to candidate and noncandidate committees of various levels of financial resources from violating campaign spending laws. This measure will help restore faith and trust in the state government.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Removing the twenty-five percent cap on fines that may be assessed against noncandidate committees for violations of advertisement disclosure requirements;

(2) Removing the twenty-five percent cap on fines for advertisements paid by noncandidate committees making only independent expenditures; and

(3) Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment 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. 51, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 51, 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