Campaign finance requirements for Hawaii ballot measures
 in Hawaii |
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Groups and individuals involved in ballot measure campaigns in Hawaii must adhere to the state's campaign finance laws. These laws regulate the amounts and sources of money given or received for political purposes; in addition, campaign finance laws stipulate disclosure requirements for political contributions and expenditures.
Proponents of more stringent regulations and disclosure requirements, such as the Brennan Center for Justice, claim that current laws do not go far enough to mitigate corruption and the influence of undisclosed special interests. Others, such as the Institute for Free Speech, argue that strict disclosure requirements and contribution limits impinge upon the rights to privacy and free expression.[1][2]
| Hawaii defines non-candidate committees that support or oppose a ballot measure as ballot issue committees. Hawaii requires ballot issue committees to file two reports: one ten days before the election, and one 30 days after the election. |
The laws and regulations that apply to ballot measure campaigns may differ from those that apply to candidates for political office. To learn more about campaign finance requirements for candidates, see this article.
Hawaii ballot measures
- See also: Ballot measure
A ballot measure is any question or issue that appears on an election ballot to be approved or rejected by voters. In 26 states, plus Washington, D.C., citizens may use the initiative and referendum process, which permits citizens to petition to place measures on the ballot and usually involves a signature collection process of some kind. Even in states without initiative and referendum processes, however, ballot measures exist. In all states, citizens may be asked to approve legislatively referred constitutional amendments, state statutes, bond issues or tax proposals.
In Hawaii, ballot measures come in only one form: legislatively referred constitutional amendments.
Organizational requirements
Hawaii defines non-candidate committees that support or oppose a ballot measure as ballot issue committees. Ballot issue committees are required to file a statement of organization within 10 days of making expenditures or receiving contributions totaling $1,000. If a committee is formed in the last 30 days prior to an election, a statement of organization must be filed within two days of reaching the $1,000 threshold. A ballot issue committee must file for termination within 90 days after the election for which the issue they supported or opposed was on the ballot.[3][4][5]
Contribution limits
There are no contribution limits on ballot issue committees in Hawaii. Committees must record the name and address of the contributor for contributions over $25, and the name, address, employer, and occupation for contributions over $100. Although committees must record this information, they are only required to report it for contributions exceeding $100. Anonymous contributions are not allowed. Anonymous contributions received must be turned over to the Hawaii Election Campaign Fund.[5]
Reporting requirements
Hawaii requires two reports from ballot issues committees. The first report is due 10 days before the election in which the relevant ballot question is on the ballot and covers all activity from the committee's formation to the filing of the report. The second report is due 30 days after the election, and covers all activities from nine days before the election to the day of the election. Ballot issue committees must also file a termination report within 90 days after the election. Contributions must be reported as noted above. For all expenditures, regardless of the amount, the committee must report the name and address of the recipient, as well as the date, amount and purpose of the expenditure.[5]
Year-specific reporting dates
2021–2022
The table below lists relevant campaign finance report filing deadlines in Hawaii in 2021 and 2022.
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Hawaii, 2021–2022 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Reporting period | Filing deadline |
| Supplemental report | November 4, 2020 – December 31, 2020 | February 1, 2021 |
| Supplemental report | January 1, 2021 – June 30, 2021 | August 2, 2021 |
| Supplemental report | July 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021 | January 31, 2022 |
| Preliminary primary report | January 1, 2022 – July 29, 2022 | August 3, 2022 |
| Final primary report | July 30, 2022 – August 13, 2022 | September 2, 2022 |
| 1st preliminary general report | August 14, 2022 – September 26, 2022 | October 3, 2022 |
| 2nd preliminary general report | September 27, 2022 – October 24, 2022 | October 31, 2022 |
| Final election period report | October 25, 2022 – November 8, 2022 | December 8, 2022 |
| Source: Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission, "Schedule of Reporting Dates for Noncandidate Committees (2022 Election Period)," accessed July 13, 2021 | ||
State agencies
- See also: Campaign finance agencies in Hawaii
In Hawaii, there is one primary agency involved in campaign finance regulation: the Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission. The commission oversees enforcement of Hawaii's campaign finance laws; the commission also administers the campaign finance reporting process for state-level candidates and political committees.
Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission
- Leiopapa A Kamehameha Building
- 235 S. Beretania Street, Room 300
- Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
- Telephone: (808) 586-0285
- Fax: (808) 586-0288
Campaign finance legislation
The following is a list of recent campaign finance bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Hawaii state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.
Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.
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Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Hawaii campaign finance. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Campaign finance requirements in Hawaii
- Campaign finance agencies in Hawaii
- List of Hawaii ballot measures
External links
- Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission
- Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission, "Noncandidate Committees—View Reports and Fundraiser Notices"
Footnotes
- ↑ Institute for Free Speech, "Money in Politics," accessed September 4, 2017
- ↑ Brennan Center for Justice, "Money in Politics," accessed September 4, 2017
- ↑ Justia, "§11-321 Registration of candidate committee or noncandidate committee," accessed December 11, 2015
- ↑ Justia, "§11-327 Ballot issue committee; contributions and expenditures," accessed December 11, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Hawaii Department of Accounting and General Services, " Non-candidate Committee Guidebook," accessed December 11, 2015
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