STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3282

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1520

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 1520, H.D. 1, 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 clarify that the five-year statute of limitations for criminal prosecutions of campaign finance violations begins upon discovery of the offense by the Campaign Spending Commission.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Campaign Spending Commission, Indivisible Hawaiʻi, Windward Coalition, Imua Alliance, Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action, and twenty-one individuals.

Your Committee finds that campaign finance violations are often concealed and may involve falsified reporting or complicated financial arrangements that are not immediately noticed. When the statute of limitations expires before violations are discovered, enforcement becomes impossible and misconduct goes unchecked. By strengthening the deterrent power of the State's campaign finance laws to ensure accountability, this measure restores and maintains public confidence that the State's elections are fair.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of March 22, 2075, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) 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 H.B. No. 1520, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1520, H.D. 1, 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