COM 0839.002 2006-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Executive Summary for HB 661 HD1 Replacement Language Overview: Creates comprehensive public funding for elections to Hawaii county council; establishes qualifications, limitations on funding and use of funds, reporting requirements, and amends chapter 11, part XII, to reflect changes. (HB661 HD1) Mechanics of the Comprehensive Public Funding program for Hawaii County Legislation: • Redefines the word "county" to mean "the county with the largest land mass." This is a routine process to single out a county without calling the county by name, which is not acceptable in the standards for drafting legislation. • Pays qualifying candidates money from the Hawaii Election Campaign Fund, which is managed by the Campaign Spending Commission (CSC) and funded through the two-dollar check off on state tax forms. The Hawaii Election Campaign Fund currently has over $5 million in the bank and gathers approximately $1 million per year from tax form contributions. Since the operating budget for the CSC is approximately $500,000, this creates a net gain of approximately $500,000 per year for the campaign fund, or $1 million every two years (election years are every two years). • Sets the number of qualifying signatures for candidates at 200 for each county district. The qualifying signatures must come from registered voters who live in the district for which the candidate is running, and must be accompanied by a $5 contribution from the signer. The contributions must be made in a way that the CSC can verify that it came from the signer. This would be a personal check or money order. • Signatures and contributions must be turned in to the CSC no later than thirty days prior to the primary election. The CSC then must respond within 10 business days, letting the candidate know if they have been approved or denied certification. • To determine the amount that a candidate receives, the CSC will average the amount of money raised by the winners of that district over the last two election cycles. • If a publicly funded candidate is outspent by a privately funded candidate, the publicly funded candidate will receive a dollar-for-dollar match (up to a certain set amount). During the final 45 days before the election, reporting requirements change to insure that a publicly funded candidate receives matching funds if he or she is being outspent by a privately funded candidate (refer to section 11-M)