Report Title:

Elections; Campaign Contributions; Coordinated Campaign

Description:

Provides that an endorsement is not a contribution under specified circumstances; defines "coordinated campaign" for campaign contribution purposes; increases campaign contribution limits as to persons and political parties by $10,000 or the amount of contribution attributable to each candidate, whichever is less, when contributions received by a coordinated campaign.

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

468

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO ELECTIONS.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Chapter 11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§11- Endorsements. An endorsement shall not constitute a contribution, if the candidate or candidate's committee does not make an expenditure of funds, whether of the candidate's own funds or campaign funds, to disseminate the endorsement. (For example, a picture of two candidates or a picture of a candidate and an office holder that is used, disseminated, or published, or an advertisement, by a third party endorsing either or both candidates.)"

SECTION 2. Section 11-191, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:

""Coordinated campaign" means contributions are collected by or expenditures are attributable to more than one clearly identifiable candidate."

SECTION 3. Section 11-204, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§11-204 Campaign contributions; limits as to persons.

(a) (1) [No] Except as provided in subsection (m), no person or any other entity shall make contributions to:

(A) A candidate seeking nomination or election to a two-year office or to the candidate's committee in an aggregate amount greater than $2,000 during an election period;

(B) A candidate seeking nomination or election to a four-year statewide office or to the candidate's committee in an aggregate amount greater than $6,000 during an election period; and

(C) A candidate seeking nomination or election to a four-year nonstatewide office or to the candidate's committee in an aggregate amount greater than $4,000 during an election period.

These limits shall not apply to a loan made to a candidate by a financial institution in the ordinary course of business.

(2) For purposes of this section, the length of term of an office shall be the usual length of term of the office as unaffected by reapportionment, a special election to fill a vacancy, or any other factor causing the term of the office the candidate is seeking to be less than the usual length of term of that office.

(b) No person or any other entity shall make contributions to a noncandidate committee, in an aggregate amount greater than $1,000 in an election; except that in the case of a corporation or company using funds from its own treasury, there shall be no limit on contributions or expenditures to the corporation or company noncandidate committee.

(c) A candidate's immediate family, in making contributions to the candidate's campaign, shall be exempt from the above limitation, but shall be limited in the aggregate to $50,000 in any election period. The aggregate amount of $50,000 shall include any loans made for campaign purposes to the candidate from the candidate's immediate family.

(d) A contribution by a dependent minor shall be reported in the name of the minor but shall be counted against the contribution of the minor's parent or guardian.

(e) Any candidate, candidate's committee, or committee that receives in the aggregate more than the applicable limits set forth in this section in any primary, initial special, special, or general election from a person, shall be required to do one of the following:

(1) Regardless of whether the excess donation was inadvertently made, to transfer an amount equal to any excess over the limits established in this section to the Hawaii election campaign fund within thirty days of receipt of the contribution, and in any event, no later than thirty days upon the receipt by a candidate, candidate's committee, or committee, of notification from the commission; or

(2) If the excess donation was inadvertently made, to return to the donor any excess over the limits established in this section and to notify the commission within thirty days of receipt of the contribution.

A candidate, candidate's committee, or committee who complies with this subsection prior to the initiation of prosecution shall not be subject to any penalty under section 11-228.

(f) All payments made by a person or political party whose contributions or expenditure activity is financed, maintained, or controlled by any corporation, labor organization, association, political party, or any other person or committee, including any parent, subsidiary, branch, division, department, or local unit of the corporation, labor organization, association, political party, political committees established and maintained by a national political party, or any other person, or by any group of those persons shall be considered to be made by a single person or political party.

(g) A contribution made by two or more corporations shall be treated as one person when such corporations:

(1) Share the majority of members of their boards of directors;

(2) Share two or more corporate officers;

(3) Are owned or controlled by the same majority shareholder or shareholders; or

(4) Are in a parent-subsidiary relationship.

(h) An individual and any general partnership in which the individual is a partner, or an individual and any corporation in which the individual owns a controlling interest, shall be treated as one person.

(i) No committee which supports or opposes a candidate for public office shall have as officers individuals who serve as officers on any other committee which supports or opposes the same candidate. No such committee shall act in concert with, or solicit or make contributions on behalf of, any other committee.

(j) No contributions or expenditures shall be made to or on behalf of a candidate or committee by a foreign national or foreign corporation, including a domestic subsidiary of a foreign corporation, a domestic corporation that is owned by a foreign national, or a local subsidiary where administrative control is retained by the foreign corporation, and in the same manner prohibited under 2 United States Code section 441e and 11 Code of Federal Regulations 110.4(a) and 110.9(a), as amended. No foreign-owned domestic corporation shall make contributions [where:] if:

(1) Foreign national individuals participate in election- related activities such as decisions concerning the making of contributions or the administration of a political committee; or

(2) The contribution funds are not domestically-derived.

(k) No person or any other entity other than political committees established and maintained by a national political party shall make contributions to a political party in an aggregate amount greater than $25,000 in any two-year election period. No political committee established and maintained by a national political party, shall make contributions to a political party in an aggregate amount greater than $50,000 in any two-year election period.

(l) Except for subsection (j), this section shall not apply to ballot issue committees.

(m) In the case of a coordinated campaign, the campaign contribution limits under subsection (a)(1) shall be increased by $10,000 or the amount of contribution attributable to each candidate, whichever is less."

SECTION 4. Section 11-205, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§11-205 Campaign contributions; limits as to political parties. A contribution to a political party which is earmarked for a particular candidate or candidates shall be promptly distributed to such candidate and shall be reported by the candidate upon receipt as an individual contribution. Earmarked funds contributed pursuant to this section shall be counted:

(1) Toward the contribution limit of the political party donating such funds to a candidate or candidates; and

(2) Toward the contribution limit of the person or persons contributing such earmarked funds[.];

provided that in the case of a coordinated campaign, the campaign contribution limits shall be increased by $10,000 or the amount of contribution attributable to each candidate, whichever is less."

SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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