House Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs advances ethics, lobbying and campaign‑finance measures; several bills deferred

The House Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs voted on Jan. 28 on a slate of measures covering public‑records access for researchers, ethics enforcement, lobbying rules and multiple campaign‑finance changes, advancing several bills to the next stage and deferring others for further work.

The committee passed House Bill 131, which would authorize the Office of Information Practices (OIP) to adopt uniform rules for researchers seeking access to government records, and moved forward a number of campaign‑finance and ethics bills with technical amendments. Committee members also deferred several measures for additional review, including bills the chair said require more thorough drafting or coordination with other offices.

Why it matters: the measures collectively aim to tighten disclosure, streamline enforcement and modernize campaign‑finance tools the state has not updated in decades. The committee’s actions could change how investigators, contractors, lobbyists and candidates interact with state agencies and with one another — and will send a subset of changes to the Finance Committee or to further committee drafting before any final votes by the full House or Senate.

Office of Information Practices rulemaking

House Bill 131 would explicitly give OIP authority to promulgate rules under chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to clarify how researchers may obtain nonpublic government records when statutory exemptions do not apply. Carlotta Amarino, director of the Office of Information Practices, told the committee she supports the measure and "I stand on our very brief testimony in support of this bill, which would help researchers to obtain access to government records for research purposes." Public commenters and a coalition including the Public First Law Center and the League of Women Voters supported the bill; the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the University of Hawai‘i System submitted concerns about agency burden and definitions.

Ethics and lobbying changes

The committee advanced bills intended to streamline ethics enforcement and expand lobbying disclosure around procurement. Robert Harris, executive director of the Hawaii State Ethics Commission, described House Bill 411, which would create a faster administrative penalty process under the state ethics code, as "essentially an efficiency measure." The committee approved that measure as drafted.

House Bill 412 would expand the statutory definition of lobbying to cover certain communications with high‑level executive branch officials about procurement decisions and would make certain contracts voidable in cases of severe undisclosed lobbying. The ethics commission and the committee emphasized a narrow, phased approach focused on directors and deputy directors; the State Procurement Office flagged potential operational consequences if contracts were voided but the committee voted to advance the bill with technical amendments.

Campaign‑finance changes and public financing

The Campaign Spending Commission and several civic groups urged updates to the partial public‑financing program and other contribution rules. House Bill 370 would raise partial public financing amounts across offices (including enlarging funds available for Office of Hawaiian Affairs candidates) and ask for an appropriation to fund program changes; the committee advanced the bill with technical edits and left funding language and staffing requests to be addressed by Finance. Supporters said the statutory amounts have not been updated since 1995; opponents cautioned about cost and uptake.

Other campaign bills that moved or were discussed included measures to: require return or escheat of excess cash contributions over $100 (HB 369); expand a ban on contractor and grantee contributions to include officers and immediate family members (HB 371), which the committee deferred for additional study and a companion bill hearing Feb. 5; prohibit elected state officials from soliciting or accepting contributions during the legislative session (HB 372, amended to apply to state legislators only); and ban the use of campaign funds to buy multiple high‑value fundraiser tickets for another candidate (HB 772).

Elections and voter‑registration items

The committee moved HB 134, directing the chief election officer to provide an electronic system for filing nomination papers (implementation timing and fee authority to be worked out with the Office of Elections), and HB 408, aligning a cross‑referenced voter‑registration deadline so mail‑in registration matches the 10‑day statutory deadline already adopted elsewhere.

Elections Commission appointments

House Bill 141 would subject nominees to the Elections Commission to advice‑and‑consent of the Senate while retaining the statutory partisan nomination structure: minority and majority caucuses would still nominate commissioners but the Senate would hold a public confirmation process. Supporters said the change would increase public vetting; opponents warned it could politicize the commission. The committee advanced HB 141 with technical amendments and a provision authorizing an interim appointment mechanism to avoid prolonged vacancies.

Votes at a glance

- HB 131 (research records/OIP): Passed as is. Roll call recorded in committee; Chair David Tarnas and Vice Chair Maghina Poipoi voted aye; Representative Belotti, Representative Kahalua, Representative Amy Peruso, Representative Takayama, Representative Diamond Garcia and Representative Garner Shimizu voted aye. (Yes: 8; Excused: Cochran, Hashem, Todd.) - HB 411 (ethics administrative penalties): Passed as is; advanced to next step (vote adopted; specific roll call not recorded in transcript). - HB 412 (lobbying, procurement communications): Passed with technical amendments; advanced for further drafting (vote adopted; roll-call not read aloud). - HB 413 (clarify lobbyist contribution prohibitions/jurisdiction): Passed with amendments (vote adopted; roll‑call not recorded). - HB 149 (corporate disclosure to shareholders): Deferred/not advanced; committee chair recommended deferral because the Campaign Spending Commission posts required filings online and proponents said the information is already publicly available. - HB 369 (excess cash contributions escheat rule): Passed as is (vote adopted; roll‑call not recorded). - HB 370 (increase partial public financing amounts): Passed with technical amendments; appropriation and staffing requests were removed from the bill and will be recorded in the committee report for Finance to consider (one recorded “no” vote from Representative Diamond Garcia; recommendation adopted). - HB 371 (contractor/grantee contribution ban – officers/immediate family): Deferred to Feb. 5 to consider a companion, more comprehensive draft; committee asked CSC for follow‑up. - HB 372 (ban elected state officials soliciting or accepting contributions during legislature): Passed with amendment limiting the prohibition to state legislators (Representative Garner Shimizu registered a reservation; recommendation adopted). - HB 772 (ban use of campaign funds to buy up to two tickets for another campaign’s fundraising tiers that effectively disguise contributions): Passed with a defective‑date amendment to allow Finance to consider implementation details. - HB 662 (repeal exemption for candidates’ own funds / family loans limits): Deferred to Feb. 5 for AG review on potential constitutional issues. - HB 134 (electronic filing of nomination papers): Passed with technical amendments; Office of Elections asked for implementation timing and fee authority to be clarified in committee report. - HB 408 (conform voter‑registration deadline to 10 days by mail): Passed as is. - HB 141 (Elections Commission subject to Senate advice & consent with interim appointment mechanism): Passed with technical amendments; committee retained bipartisan nomination structure but moved confirmations into a public Senate vetting process.

What’s next

Most passed measures will proceed to Finance or to other committees for drafting or appropriations as noted; the chair scheduled additional review or decision making on several deferred bills for Feb. 5. Committee staff and agency witnesses were asked to coordinate on rulemaking details, funding requests and any technical statutory drafting before the matters return to committee or advance to the full House.

Quotes

"I stand on our very brief testimony in support of this bill, which would help researchers to obtain access to government records for research purposes," said Carlotta Amarino, director of the Office of Information Practices, about HB 131.

On administrative penalties under the ethics code, Robert Harris, executive director of the Hawaii State Ethics Commission, described the proposal as "essentially an efficiency measure."

Ben Kreps of the Public First Law Center summarized HB 131 as "simply clarif[ying] existing rulemaking authority for OIP," urging that rulemaking would address agency concerns through public process.

Ending

Committee members said they expect more technical drafting and agency consultation before several measures return to the committee or move to Finance, while measures the committee approved will proceed through the legislative process for additional committee review, appropriation consideration or floor action.