HB1336 amends Hawaii’s campaign finance law governing state and county contractors by expanding existing contribution prohibitions to cover state and county grantees as well. Under the bill, a person who applies for or receives a state or county grant or subsidy would be barred, during the application-to-completion period, from making or promising campaign contributions to candidate committees, noncandidate committees, candidates, or other persons for political purposes, and from knowingly soliciting contributions. The bill also extends similar restrictions to the owners, officers, consultants, and joint account holders associated with both contractors and grantees.
The measure further adds a new prohibition for state and county contractors: they may not knowingly provide something of value to a candidate committee, noncandidate committee, candidate, or other person for political purposes, including advertisements. It preserves the existing exception allowing unrelated persons to establish or administer noncandidate committees, and it keeps the definition of “completion of the contract” tied to full performance, resolution of disputes, and final adjudication of claims. The bill would take effect upon approval.
Impact
HB1336 would broaden the scope of Hawaii Revised Statutes section 11-355 by adding grantees under chapter 42F and county grant or subsidy programs to the list of persons subject to campaign contribution restrictions. It would also expand the universe of covered individuals to include owners, officers, consultants, and joint account holders of both contractors and grantees, and would add a new prohibition on providing anything of value for political purposes. The practical effect is to tighten campaign finance compliance rules for entities doing business with, or receiving funding from, the State or counties, and to increase the number of parties who could be subject to enforcement under the campaign contribution law.
Sentiment
The available context suggests the bill was treated as a straightforward campaign finance restriction measure and was referred for further committee review without recorded opposition or vote history in the provided materials. The report description frames the bill as an amendment expanding existing prohibitions rather than creating a new regulatory scheme, which suggests a generally procedural and policy-focused posture. No committee transcript is available, so there is no direct evidence of strong support or opposition in the provided record.
Contention
The main policy issue raised by the bill’s text is the breadth of the contribution ban: it extends restrictions beyond contractors to grantees and to associated individuals such as owners, officers, consultants, and joint account holders. Potential points of contention would likely center on whether those expanded limits are necessary to prevent pay-to-play influence or whether they are too broad and could burden ordinary political participation by people connected to government-funded or government-contracted entities. Another possible issue is the new prohibition on providing “something of value,” including advertisements, which may be viewed as a stronger and less familiar restriction than the existing ban on direct contributions.