The Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission electronic filing systems will be down and offline for scheduled maintenance on Thursday, May 13 from 8 a.m. to noon.

The offline systems will include the candidate filing system, noncandidate committee filing system, and the noncandidate committee import system.

During this downtime, new candidate and noncandidate committees will not be able to electronically file the Organizational Report to register with the commission, and currently registered candidate and noncandidate committees will not be able to enter campaign spending data and electronically file disclosure reports or any other reports.

Currently registered noncandidate committees will also not be able to import contribution and expenditure data into the noncandidate committee filing system.

Additionally, campaign spending reports filed by candidate committees and noncandidate committees will not be accessible on the candidate filing system and noncandidate committee filing system public sites during this downtime.

However, the candidate and noncandidate committee data visualizations and the candidate and noncandidate committee searchable databases are still accessible.

The 31st session of the Hawaii Legislature will adjourn sine die on April 29 after 55 days in session.

During the legislative session, lawmakers introduced several bills related to campaign finance and lobbying laws.

Senate Bill 0166, related to campaign finance, prohibits foreign nationals and foreign corporations from making independent expenditures. The bill requires every corporation that contributes or expends funds in a state election to file a statement of certification regarding its limited foreign influence.

Additionally, the bill requires noncandidate committees making only independent expenditures to obtain a statement of certification from each top contributor required to be listed in an advertisement. If passed, the bill would become effective immediately.

Senate Bill 0557, relating to administrative action lobbying, expands the definition of administrative action for purposes of the lobbying laws to include granting or denying applications for business or development-related permits, licenses, or approvals.

The bill also clarifies that lobbying laws apply to lobbying by the executive branch. If passed, the bill would become effective September 1, 2021.

Bills signed by Gov. David Ige will go into effect July 1. Bills not signed by the governor will take effect 90 days after adjournment sine die.

The Hawaii Ethics Commission administrative rules on gifts and lobbying are now live.

Additionally, optional lobbyist training sessions will take place on the mornings of January 6, 2021 and January 12, 2021 at 10 a.m.

Title 21 of the Hawaii Administrative Rules provides greater clarity on lobbyist registration and reporting requirements of the Hawaii Revised Statutes and memorializes longstanding ethics commission advice.

Noteworthy rule provisions include the requirement that expenditures are reported on an accrual basis, and a lobbyist registration exemption for individuals who work behind the scenes to draft testimony, research, and work under the direction of a registered lobbyist without directly communicating with legislative or executive branch officials.

Lobbyists interested in attending either of the training sessions may register at: https://ethics.hawaii.gov/ethicstraining_schedule/.

The Hawaii State Senate confirmed eight judicial appointments on October 6 in its first special session of 2020.

First Circuit Court Judge Karen Nakasone was appointed to the Intermediate Court of Appeals. Karin Holma, Tracy Fukui, Bryant Zane, and Andrew Park were appointed to the District Court of the First Circuit. Additionally, Courtney Naso, Elizabeth Paek-Harris, and Thomas Haia were appointed to the District Family Court of the First Circuit.

Sen. Karl Rhoads, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the pandemic had caused a backlog in the courts and the appointees are eager to begin working.

The session then adjourned sine die October 6 after the Senate confirmed the appointments.

A lobbyist and employer activity report will be due within 30 days of adjournment sine die of the special session on November 5 for expenditures and contributions relating to legislative action considered during the special session.

The Hawaii Ethics Commission approved a package of proposals on June 18. These proposals amend and adopt portions of the Hawaii Administrative Rules related to lobbying and gifts.

The amendments in chapters one through six address the Commission’s operations and procedures. Additionally, chapters seven through 10 now include sections on “Lobbying” and “Gifts and Fair Treatment”.

The proposed rules do not purport to amend any statutes. Rather, they are designed to interpret and execute the statutes enacted by the Legislature.

Section 21-10-5

Section 21-10-5, statement of contributions and expenditures, addresses the statutory requirement that statements of contributions and expenditures must be filed by up to three different entities. This could be the client, the employing organization, and the lobbyist. Or, in the case of lobbyists employed in-house by the client, the client or employing organization and the lobbyist.
This rule creates a single, client-based report rather than requiring separate reports from the client, the employing organization, and the lobbyist. This single, client-based reporting method avoids double or sometimes triple reporting. Additionally, it eliminates the practice, when clients or employing organizations cover expenditures, of having lobbyists submit reports listing “zero” expenditures.

Section 21-10-1

Section 21-10-1 contains definitions of “direct lobbying” and “grassroots lobbying” to demonstrate that lobbying can be both direct and indirect, consistent with the definition of lobbying in Section 97-1 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes. Under Rule 21-10-1, direct lobbying is defined as any oral or written communication with a legislator, an employee, intern, or volunteer of the legislature or an agency that would appear to a reasonable person to be an attempt to influence legislation or rule-making.
Additionally, grassroots lobbying is defined as any oral or written communication directed at any member of the public that expresses an opinion about existing or potential legislation, administrative rule, or ballot issue and includes an explicit or implied call to action.

Section 21-7-6

Section 21-7-6, valuation of gifts, defines the value of a gift as the cost that a member of the public would reasonably expect to incur to purchase it. For example, If the face value of a ticket to an event is $100, but the event is sold out and tickets on the secondary market are $500 at the time the ticket is offered as a gift, the value of the ticket is $500.

The rules must now be approved by the Department of the Attorney General, and then by the governor. Once approved by both offices, they will be posted with the Office of the Lieutenant Governor for 10 days before becoming effective.

The Hawaii Legislature will resume its session on June 22 to address budget issues, COVID-19, and police discipline measures.

The Legislature previously recessed on May 22 after passing legislation storing more than $1 billion in the general fund.

Now lawmakers will need to pass a balanced budget of approximately $413 million for the fiscal year.

In terms of law enforcement reform, lawmakers will consider a proposal to require police to intervene when they see their fellow officers involved in potentially unlawful situations.

The legislative session is expected to adjourn sine die on July 10.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

The Hawaii State Ethics Commission voted to accept new testimony prior to its public hearing on May 21.

The hearing is specifically concerning proposed amendments to the state lobbying and gift rules.

In order to consider the new testimony, the Commission deferred the matter to its next meeting scheduled for mid-June.

The proposals include:

• Clarifications as to what activities constitute lobbying
• Exclusions from lobbyist registration requirements
• A requirement that expenditures be reported on an accrual rather than cash basis.

Additionally, the proposals would amend prohibitions on certain kinds of gifts, valuation of gifts, and gift disclosure statements.

Once the Commission approves the rules, the rules are subject to approval by the Department of the Attorney General and the governor. Afterward, they will be posted with the Office of the Lieutenant Governor for a period of 10 days before becoming effective.

On April 24, the Hawaii State Ethics Commission further extended the deadline for lobbyist and employer activity reports to June 1 in response to COVID-19.

Originally, reports for the January 1 to February 29 period were due on March 31.

The stay-at-home orders prompted the commission to extend the deadline to April 30.

Now the deadline has been further extended to June 1.

This does not affect lobbyist and employer activity reports due June 1 for the reporting period of March 1 to April 30.

The Democratic Party of Hawaii announced the Democrat presidential primary election will take place on May 22 via mail-in ballots.

The election had originally been scheduled for April 4, but in-person voting was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.

To accommodate those who planned to vote in person, the party won’t count the ballots until late May to allow time for the extra round of ballots to be mailed, filled out, and returned.

Voters have until April 4 to register with the party and request a ballot.

The Hawaii State Ethics Commission has rescheduled its public hearing on proposed administrative rules concerning amendments to state lobbying and gift laws for May 7.

Due to COVID-19 concerns, the original date of March 19 was postponed.

The proposals include:

• Clarifications as to what activities constitute lobbying
• Exclusions from lobbyist registration requirements
• A requirement that expenditures be reported on an accrual rather than cash basis

Additionally, the proposals would amend prohibitions on certain kinds of gifts, valuation of gifts, and gift disclosure statements.

The Hawaii State Ethics Commission will hold a special meeting on Friday, March 27, in response to COVID-19.

Currently, lobbyist and employer activity reports are due on Tuesday, March 31, for the period of January 1 to February 29.

Additionally, Commission members will consider issuing an order to extend the deadline to April 30.

Despite previous reports on March 17 that the Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission will remain open, it is now closed to the public as of March 20.

Commission staff are available remotely at (808) 586-0285 during regular business hours for assistance.

This does not affect noncandidate committee filing deadlines.

Due to COVID-19 concerns, the Hawaii State Ethics Commission has postponed its public hearing on proposed administrative rules concerning amendments to state lobbying and gift laws scheduled for March 19.

While a new date has not been established, the ethics commission indicated the public hearing will likely take place in early May.

The proposals include:

• • Clarifications as to what activities constitute lobbying
  • Exclusions from lobbyist registration requirements
  • Requirements that expenditures be reported on an accrual rather than cash basis

Additionally, the proposals amend prohibitions on certain kinds of gifts, valuation of gifts, and gift disclosure statements.

The Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission is fully operational and has implemented preventative measures in line with COVID-19 precautions.

Staff are following the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Hawaii State Department of Health on the importance of hygiene etiquette.

The Campaign Spending Commission remains committed to maintaining the integrity and transparency of campaign finance in the 2020 election.

As such, noncandidate committee reports will still need to be timely filed.

Additionally, contact information should be up to date in each organizational report.

To check the status of an organizational report, log in to the noncandidate Filing System.

After logging in, click on “Edit Organizational Report” under the Administration tab.