Campaign finance bill dropped
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By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer
House lawmakers shot down a controversial campaign finance bill last night after a lengthy behind-the-scenes feud with Senate colleagues over how hard it should clamp down on money from special interests.
"I think the bill was seriously flawed," said Rep. Cynthia Thielen, R-50th (Kailua, Mokapu). " ... I'd like to see us do campaign reform, but I think the campaign reform should be done properly, and not with loopholes that are so giant you could drive a truck through them."
House Republicans had warned that they would vote against Senate Bill 459 as a bloc, and many members of the Democratic majority also had serious concerns. Both parties agreed to send the bill back to committee, killing it for this legislative session.
"I don't think this campaign reform bill meets the standards that the public has for us, and it doesn't meet our own standards," said Rep. Brian Schatz, D-25th (Makiki, Tantalus), who had pushed hard for a stronger bill.
"This bill is not 'better than nothing,' " he said. "We owe it to the public and to ourselves to do a better job next year."
Sen. Cal Kawamoto, the bill's sponsor, said it had been a struggle to move the measure this far, and that it was sorely needed to clarify the state's campaign law. He said he hoped the Senate would approve the measure tomorrow as a symbolic gesture.
"We had a good bill, and they demanded quite a lot from us," said Kawamoto, D-18th (Waipahu, Crestview, Pearl City).
The Senate had amended the bill earlier last night to allow candidates for governor and lieutenant governor to raise up to $6,000 from each supporter, the present legal limit.
According to Sen. Colleen Hanabusa, D-21st (Nanakuli, Makaha), who sponsored the change along with Kawamoto, a provision inserted earlier had mistakenly lowered the limit to $4,000 for statewide offices.
The amendment returning the limit to $6,000 would allow Gov. Linda Lingle to raise more money for her presumed 2006 re-election campaign. It was viewed by some lawmakers as a clumsy attempt to ensure Lingle would not veto the bill.
The House and Senate had approved completely different versions earlier in the session.
The House measure banned government contractors from making campaign contributions to candidates for state and county offices, and banned direct contributions from corporations and labor unions. But the version that emerged from a conference committee last week exempted low-bid contractors from the ban, allowed all contractors to finance lawmakers' campaigns, and tossed out the corporation and union bans.
Campaign Spending Commission director Robert Watada had strongly objected to what he called loopholes, including a provision that allows contractors who own less than 25 percent of their company's stock to make contributions.
Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
