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Campaign spending commission flags redaction, AG notes coverage gaps as committee passes lawmaker-safety bill
Summary
At a House Committee on Legislative Management hearing, the Campaign Spending Commission warned HB 2184’s redaction provisions could conflict with Hawaii campaign finance disclosure requirements; the Attorney General submitted technical comments and the committee approved the bill with amendments.
The House Committee on Legislative Management heard testimony Feb. 18 on HB 2184, a bill described as addressing lawmaker safety. The Campaign Spending Commission urged caution about how the measure would be administered and the effect on statutory disclosure requirements.
Christy Chang, speaking for the Campaign Spending Commission, said Hawaii’s campaign-finance law exists to provide transparency and that the bill “would require the redaction of that information.” Chang identified two areas where the bill is silent: how to handle reports for elected officials who remain registered with a committee after leaving office, and whether the bill covers appointed officials in addition to elected ones. The commission asked for additional implementation time if the bill passes to allow its vendor to adapt the commission’s online filing system.
Deputy Attorney General Charles John Meehan told the committee the Attorney General’s Office submitted written comments to help implement the bill and flagged an internal cross-reference issue and the omission noted by the commission regarding appointed officials.
The committee accepted the Attorney General’s amendments, made technical edits for consistency and style, and passed HB 2184 with amendments.
Organizations recorded on the bill's list included the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women and the League of Women Voters Hawaii in support and the Hawaii Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists in opposition, per the committee clerk’s summary of registered positions.
The committee did not provide an expanded implementation timeline during this session; it approved the measure for further processing with the adopted amendments.
