By Leah Dearborn

The Hawaiian Senate chose to amend House Bill 1481 this past week. Beginning in the 2016 election cycle, only candidates for the state House will be eligible for public funding in Hawaii. The bill was originally suggested to the Senate by non-profit organization, Voter Owned Hawaii.

In addition to public funding reform, the Senate also addressed what information super PACs must disclose regarding donations. Political action committees are only required to disclose one of their main sources of income on campaign commercials in Hawaii. Now, lawmakers are trying to close the loopholes the law creates. The Honolulu Civil Beat quotes deputy AG Deidre Marie-Iha on a potential issue with how the bill is currently structured:

“For example, if a super PAC had three large contributors — one who donated $15,000, one of $1 million and one of $2 million — as currently structured in the bill before you, a super PAC could comply with this provision by disclosing only the $15,000 contributor in their advertisement,” she said.

The Civil Beat also reports that the PAC reform bill will head next to the Ways and Means Committee.

Election Transparency