STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2989

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2405

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 2405 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 authorize an election candidate, treasurer, or candidate committee to use campaign funds for the candidate's child care and vital household dependent care costs under certain conditions.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Campaign Spending Commission, ACLU of Hawaii, Vote Mama Foundation, AAUW of Hawaii, Women's Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi, and one individual.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from two individuals.

Your Committee finds that balancing family obligations with a political campaign is a difficult task for many political candidates. Women, who are often caregivers, are disproportionately impacted by these challenges, and so are single parents. These individuals can face additional difficulty as political candidates if they lack access to child care. Existing law provides for candidates to utilize their campaign funds for a number of expenses, including donations to public schools and libraries, scholarships for higher education, and consumer goods for mixed benefit of the candidate. Therefore, this measure expands permissible uses of campaign funds to include child care to provide candidates an opportunity to engage in campaign activity in a fair and equitable way.

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. 2405 and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

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

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KARL RHOADS, Chair