Failure of campaign reform bill 'disappointing'
By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer
Election campaign watchdogs said they were glad the House shelved a controversial fund-raising bill Tuesday night, but were unhappy important reforms wouldn't be approved this year.
"I think they did the right thing, because it was just full of flaws," said Jean Aoki, legislative chair of the League of Women Voters. "It's very disappointing, but we'd rather not have something that is faulty, that doesn't deliver what it claims to do."
The House sent Senate Bill 459 back to committee after quietly sparring for weeks with key senators over what limits should be placed on political donations. Today marks the end of the legislative session, and the measure cannot be resurrected.
"It simply didn't meet the standards of campaign reform," said state Campaign Spending Commission director Robert Watada. "I'm glad the House saw that and voted it down."
Russell Pang, Gov. Linda Lingle's press secretary, said the administration also believes the bill is "flawed." "It has many loopholes, and we're disappointed that the Legislature did not advance the administration's campaign reform proposals, but we're going to continue to push for those."
The bill changed repeatedly as lawmakers wrangled over how strict and comprehensive new restrictions should be on special-interest money. The struggle highlighted a growing rift between the bill's sponsor, Sen. Cal Kawamoto, and the House leadership.
House Democrats had approved a separate campaign bill that banned campaign contributions from government contractors, corporations and labor unions. But the measure stalled in the Senate, largely due to objections by Kawamoto, D-18th (Waipahu, Crestview, Pearl City).
The House responded by gutting Kawamoto's bill after it passed the Senate, and inserting the text of the stalled bill in a pressure tactic meant to show resolve.
In the brinkmanship that followed, Kawamoto was adamant that any compromise allow candidates to give more money to community groups. It was a sore point, because Watada has been investigating whether Kawamoto gave undue amounts of campaign cash to groups in Waipahu in exchange for their support.
Kawamoto insists he did nothing wrong, that rules for such matters are subject to different interpretations, and that Watada dragged out the probe to smear him.
Watada said the final version of the bill would have allowed unlimited payments to community groups as a direct attempt to buy votes, a prospect that alarmed the League of Women Voters and others.
House lawmakers also objected. While it may be appropriate for politicians to assist neighborhood groups, "when you talk about thousands of dollars in very small communities, that raises a red flag," said Rep. Brian Schatz, D-25th (Makiki, Tantalus).
The disputes left House leaders seeking a deal in which Kawamoto would promise to stay out of campaign finance legislation next year, Kawamoto said.
He said it would be inappropriate to agree, since he is chair of the Senate Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations Committee.
House Speaker Calvin Say said he was growing weary of the campaign finance tug-of-war.
"When we first started, we had a very positive and proactive campaign finance bill, but it got watered down and diluted," he said. "... It's been how many years already that we've been trying to push for campaign reform? At least five years, and where are we today?"
Aoki said a big part of the problem is that so much debate takes place behind closed doors, making it harder for the public to weigh in and hold lawmakers accountable.
Schatz said he believed the issue would heat up next year, with voters watching more closely because of the scheduled election.
"I think it's going to be very difficult for any small number of individuals to block the reform," he said.
Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
