Campaign-fund bill draws criticism
By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer
In the last chance possible during this legislative session, a panel of House and Senate lawmakers will vote today on a controversial bill that would clamp down on some political fund raising but loosen other restrictions.
The bill, SB 459, has gone through various incarnations over the past three months, and campaign watchdogs say they will ask Gov. Linda Lingle to veto the final version if it fails to enact meaningful reforms.
Lawmakers and Lingle have said their main goal is to break the link that many see between campaign contributions and the awarding of government contracts.
A House draft unveiled yesterday would go halfway. It would ban some contributions from companies that are awarded "non-bid" contracts, in which experience and factors other than cost are considered. But it would not ban money from companies that win low-bid contracts.
"I don't see a whole lot of reform in there," said state Campaign Spending Commission director Robert Watada.
An earlier House version of the bill covered all contractors that are awarded work worth more than $25,000.
Rep. Eric Hamakawa, chairman of the House side of the conference panel hearing the bill, said lawmakers split the definition because Lingle had referred specifically, in her state of the state speech, to undue influence by nonbid contractors.
"I think the governor correctly identified where the abuses may occur," said Hamakawa, D-3rd (Hilo, Kea'au, Mountain View). "If you're looking for a quid pro quo, I think you're going to find it in a nonbid situation as opposed to a low-bid situation."
The latest version also allows all contractors to continue making donations to lawmakers; the earlier version contained no such exemption.
The Legislature approved a similar campaign finance bill last year, but former Gov. Ben Cayetano vetoed it because it did not cover lawmakers. Hamakawa said that sentiment was misguided because the executive branch of government oversees contracting.
"Despite what the previous governor thought, it is not the Legislature that awards government contracts," he said. "An inherent conflict doesn't exist between these contractors and the legislature."
The bill also does away with an earlier House proposal to ban direct contributions from corporations and labor unions, as federal election law does.
Hamakawa said that portion of the bill was based largely on one that Lingle had introduced, which also did not ban corporate and union money.
The campaign commission has fined dozens of companies and individual donors over the past year for making illegal contributions. The bill would require that fines, which have been as high as $64,000, go to the state general fund rather than a fund controlled by the commission.
Watada wondered whether lawmakers are trying to warn the commission not to be too aggressive. But Senate members of the conference panel say that allowing the commission to administer the fines gives the appearance that they are a "bounty" to pursue.
The bill would also repeal limits on the number of fundraisers candidates can hold; make it a felony to intentionally falsify a campaign finance report; reduce the amount a gubernatorial candidate can collect from each donor, from $6,000 to $4,000; and allow candidates to give more money to community groups.
Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
