LIHU‘E — The state of Hawai‘i could be weeks away from a radical reenvisioning of politics in the state, as a bill to facilitate full public financing of state and county campaigns awaits debate over final changes by the state Legislature.
Senate Bill 1543, if passed, would create an opt-in system for state and local electoral candidates to receive full public financing for electoral campaigns. Its supporters see the bill as a means of promoting “clean elections,” in which candidates can run without the corrupting influence of private donors.
“Senate Bill 1543 is the most significant and extensive public financing bill currently being considered throughout the nation,” said Heather Ferguson, national director of state operations at Common Cause, a Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group.
In order to qualify for the program, candidates would need to receive a certain number of $5 contributions within their voting district. Candidates seeking higher-ranking positions would need to obtain more of these contributions, but also receive more funds once they successfully opt in.
For example, a candidate for governor would need 6,250 contributions to receive $1,675,000 in funds — whereas a candidate for Kaua‘i County Council would only need 200 contributions to opt into the program, but would only receive $30,000 to spend on their campaign.
While the bill contains thorough descriptions of how the program would operate, a few core details have been intentionally left out.
For one, all mentions of the program’s funding have been left empty. Additionally, the bill is currently written so that it would take effect on June 30, 3000.
Both the lack of funding details and the ludicrous effective date (commonly called a “defective date”) exist to force a “legislative conference,” in which members of the House and Senate convene to make final edits on the bill.
Finance reform advocate and former longtime state legislator Gary Hooser said he believes the primary point of contention is on funding of the program. Supporters of the bill have stated it would cost around $30 million per electoral season to implement.
“Any other discussion about the details on the bill is really just smoke or cover,” Hooser said. “Because what’s being proposed is already done in other states, so it’s not like this is brand new. It’s just going to be all about the money, and whether or not the leaders in the House and the Senate think that this is important.”
While the legislative conference is all but certain, SB 1543’s future remains unclear. Last month, Sen. Karl Rhoads (D-District 13) — who first announced the bill in early January — expressed to The Garden Island a cautious confidence over the bill’s passage.
“I’m sort of guardedly optimistic,” he said. “I think this is a good year for it to happen in terms of the way political stars are aligned, but there’s no guarantees.”
Additionally, Hooser echoed this sentiment to The Garden Island on Thursday.
“I’m cautiously optimistic,” he said. “We’ve had two legislators go to jail in the past year — one Senator, one House member — for accepting bribes. The person they accepted bribes from was a campaign donor. There’s a spotlight on the House and the Senate. People are saying, ‘Do something, prove to us that you want to do what’s right.’ And so I think the mood is ripe for this kind of change.”
In order to keep the bill alive, the legislative chambers must reach an agreement by April 28. If an agreement is met, the conference committees will publish a Conference Draft of the bill, which would go before the full House and Senate for a final vote no later than May 4.
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Jackson Healy, reporter, can be reached at 808-647-4966 or jhealy@thegardenisland.com.
