Scaled-back bill on campaign finance advances in Senate

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer

A campaign finance bill that lawmakers tentatively approved yesterday includes far fewer changes than originally proposed, but was hailed as a first step toward reforming a troubled system.

"It's not a complete bill, but it's one that we hope we have come to with everyone involved as a foundation we can build on," said Sen. Colleen Hana-busa, D-21st (Nanakuli, Makaha), chairwoman of the conference committee that approved Senate Bill 459.

The bill, which is awaiting final votes in the full House and Senate, would ban companies seeking nonbid government contracts worth more than $25,000 from donating to candidates for offices that have contracting authority.

An earlier version of the bill would have also banned contributions from companies seeking lowest-bid contracts, and would have applied to candidates for all offices, including lawmakers.

That version would have also banned direct campaign contributions from corporations and labor unions, as federal election law does.

The House and Senate privately differed sharply on what form the bill should take, and negotiations were long and tense. But there was virtually no public debate by lawmakers on the final version, which was unveiled just one day before the deadline for moving bills out of conference committees.

The measure now requires that fines assessed by the state Campaign Spending Commission go to the state general fund, rather than to a fund controlled by the commission.

Sen. Cal Kawamoto, who pushed for the provision, said the current system makes the fines a "bounty" for commission investigators to seek.

"It's a conflict of interest, and it should have been changed a long time ago," said Kawamoto, D-18th (Waipahu, Crestview, Pearl City).

Commission director Robert Watada said the fines provide public campaign funding for candidates and help pay for investigations. The money cannot boost the pay of commission officials or pay for perks, so there is no conflict, he said.

The bill doubles the amount of money that candidates can give to community groups, an issue Kawamoto and Watada have feuded over.

The measure also cuts the amount that candidates for governor can collect from each donor, from $6,000 to $4,000.

Watada said a ban on campaign money from corporations and unions was still needed and should be considered by the Legislature in the future.

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.