Campaign finance reform measures advance, ethics bills up for review
House lawmakers to review ethics proposals today
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The Maui News
The state House of Representatives passed several campaign finance reform measures on third reading Tuesday, part of a widespread effort to root out public corruption after two state lawmakers pleaded guilty to bribery charges last year.
The measures include:
• House Bill 89, which would prohibit elected officials from soliciting and accepting campaign contributions during regular or special sessions of the state Legislature.
• House Bill 90, which would require candidate and noncandidate committees to file fundraiser notices regardless of the price or suggested contribution for attending the function.
• House Bill 93, which would require the Campaign Spending Commission to publish on its website the names of candidates and people who qualify as noncandidate committees who fail to file an organizational report or a corrected organizational report with the commission.
• House Bill 99, which would limit to $100 the total amount of cash a candidate, candidate committee or noncandidate committee may accept from a single person during each election period.
According to a House news release Tuesday, the measures all follow recommendations made by the Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct, which was created last year to review conduct standards for public officers and employees and make suggestions for improving laws on ethics, campaigning and other related issues.
The bills now cross over to the state Senate for consideration.
Meanwhile, the House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs is set to discuss other ethics reform measures at 2 p.m. today. Six of the measures were introduced by House Speaker Scott Saiki following recommendations in the commission's final report released in December.
The measures include a bill to limit a person's service in the Legislature to 16 years during their lifetime, another bill to provide grants to the ethics boards of all four counties and a proposal to create an Office of the Public Advocate that could look into alleged violations of the rights of the public with respect to the Legislature's conduct and operations.
"As we review our existing laws and discuss measures that have been introduced this session, the House reaffirms that ethics reform legislation sets the tone in ensuring the highest standards of integrity among our elected officials," committee Chairperson and Hawaii island state Rep. David Tarnas said in a news release. "It reinforces our commitment to transparency, accountability, and improving public trust."
The hearing can be viewed on the House's YouTube page. For a link to the meeting, the full agenda and the full text of proposed measures, visit capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/Session2023/hearingnotices/HEARING_JHA_02-08-23_.PDF.