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SB1032
THE SENATE
S.B. NO.
1032
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII
A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING
TO CAMPAIGN FINANCE
.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
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SECTION 1.
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The
legislature finds that the State has a compelling interest in securing its
democratic self-governance from foreign influence.
�
The State welcomes immigrants, visitors, and
investors from around the world; however, its elections should be decided by
the people of Hawaii and not by foreign entities.
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The
legislature further finds that the United States government has concluded that
Russia, China, Iran, and other foreign actors are engaged in ongoing campaigns
to undermine democratic institutions, as set forth in the joint statement
"Combating Foreign Influence in United States Elections", issued by
the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, United States Department
of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and United States Department
of Homeland Security on October 19, 2018.
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The FBI has concluded that foreign-influenced activities include
"criminal efforts to suppress voting and provide illegal campaign
financing," as set forth in FBI Director Christopher Wray's press briefing
on election security on August 2, 2018.
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T
he
legislature also finds that the United States Congress and the United States
Supreme Court recognize the need to protect American elections from foreign
influence through the ban on contributions and expenditures by foreign
nationals imposed by title 52 United States Code section 30121, upheld by the
Supreme Court in
Bluman v. Federal Election Commission
,
800 F.Supp.2d 281 (D.D.C. 2011), affirmed, 565 U.S. 1104
(2012).
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Several states, including
Hawaii, have enacted similar laws that ban foreign nationals from making
contributions or expenditures in connection with state or local elections.
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The
legislature further finds that former President Barack Obama warned of foreign
corporate spending in state elections.
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Political
spending by foreign entities can weaken, interfere with, or disrupt a state's
democratic self-government and the trust that the electorate has in its elected
representatives.
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In Hawaii, both foreign
nationals and foreign corporations are prohibited from making contributions or
expenditures to or on behalf of a candidate, candidate committee, or
noncandidate committee.
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However, more
can be done to protect the integrity of Hawaii's democratic self-government
from foreign entities that seek to influence Hawaii's elections through
political spending.
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The
purpose of this Act is to protect the State's democratic self-governance by:
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(1)
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Amending the prohibition against
campaign finance contributions and expenditures by foreign nationals and
foreign corporations;
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(2)
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Requiring every business entity that
contributes or expends funds in an election to file a statement of
certification regarding its status as a foreign or domestic corporation; and
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(3)
�
Requiring noncandidate committees
making only independent expenditures to obtain a statement of certification
from each top contributor required to be listed in an advertisement.
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SECTION
2.
�
Section 11-302, Hawaii Revised
Statutes, is amended by adding one new definition to be appropriately inserted
and to read as follows:
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"
"Business
entity" means a for-profit corporation, company, limited liability
company, limited partnership, business trust, business association, or other
similar for-profit business entity.
"
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SECTION
3
.
�
Section 11-356,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
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"
[
[
]�
11-356[
]
]
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Contributions
and expenditures
by
a
foreign national or foreign corporation
;
prohibited.
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(a)
�
[
Except
as provided in subsection (b), no
]
No
contributions or expenditures
shall be made to or on behalf of a candidate, candidate committee, or
noncandidate committee[
,
] by a foreign national or foreign corporation, including
a domestic subsidiary of a foreign corporation, [
a
] domestic corporation
that is owned by a foreign national, or [
a
] local subsidiary where
administrative control is retained by the foreign corporation[
, and in the
same manner prohibited under 2 United States Code section 441e and 11 Code of
Federal Regulations section 110.20, as amended.
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(b)
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A foreign-owned domestic corporation may make
contributions if:
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(1)
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Foreign national individuals do not
participate in election-related activities, including decisions concerning
contributions or the administration of a candidate committee or noncandidate
committee; or
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(2)
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The contributions are
domestically-derived
].
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(b)
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No independent expenditures or electioneering
communications shall be made by a foreign national or foreign corporation.
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(c)
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No contribution or donation shall be
made to any person by a foreign national or foreign corporation if the
contribution or donation is earmarked for the recipient to make a campaign
finance contribution or expenditure, including independent expenditure or
electioneering communication.
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(d)
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Every business entity that contributes to or
makes an expenditure on behalf of a candidate, candidate committee, or
noncandidate committee, including an independent expenditure or electioneering
communication, shall, within seven business days after making the contribution
or expenditure, file with the commission a statement of certification signed by
the business entity's chief executive officer avowing under penalty of perjury
that, after due inquiry, the business entity was not a foreign corporation on
the date the contribution or expenditure was made.
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For purposes of this certification, the business
entity shall ascertain beneficial ownership in a manner consistent with the
Hawaii Business Corporation Act or, if it is registered on a national
securities exchange, as set forth in title 17 Code of Federal Regulations
sections 240.13d-3 and 240.13d-5.
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The
business entity shall provide a copy of the statement of certification to any candidate
or committee to which it contributes and, upon request of the recipient, to any
other person to which it contributes.
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(e)
�
For the purposes of this section:
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"Chief
executive officer" means the highest-ranking officer or individual having
authority to make decisions regarding a business entity's affairs.
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"Earmarked"
means a designation or instruction, whether direct or indirect, express or
implied, oral or written, that results in all or any part of the contribution or
donation being expended in a manner that would be prohibited by this section if
made by the foreign national or foreign corporation.
"
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SECTION
4
.
�
Section 11-393,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
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"
�11-393
�
Identification of certain top contributors to noncandidate committees
making only independent expenditures.
�
(a)
�
An advertisement shall contain an additional
notice in a prominent location immediately after or below the notices required
by section 11-391, if the advertisement is broadcast, televised, circulated, or
published, including by electronic means, and is paid for by a noncandidate
committee that certifies to the commission that it makes only independent
expenditures.
�
This additional notice
shall start with the words, "The three top contributors for this
advertisement are", followed by the names of the three top contributors[
,
as defined in subsection (e),
] who made the highest aggregate contributions
to the noncandidate committee for the purpose of funding the advertisement;
provided that:
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(1)
�
If a noncandidate committee is only
able to identify two top contributors who made contributions for the purpose of
funding the advertisement, the additional notice shall start with the words, "The
two top contributors for this advertisement are", followed by the names of
the two top contributors;
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(2)
�
If a noncandidate committee is able to
identify only one top contributor who made contributions for the purpose of
funding the advertisement, the additional notice shall start with the words, "The
top contributor for this advertisement is", followed by the name of the
top contributor;
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(3)
�
If a noncandidate committee is unable
to identify any top contributors who made contributions for the purpose of
funding the advertisement, the additional notice shall start with the words, "The
three top contributors for this noncandidate committee are", followed by the
names of the three top contributors who made the highest aggregate
contributions to the noncandidate committee; and
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(4)
�
If there are no top contributors to the
noncandidate committee, the noncandidate committee shall not be subject to this
section.
In no case
shall a noncandidate committee be required to identify more than three top
contributors pursuant to this section.
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(b)
�
If a noncandidate committee has more than
three top contributors who contributed in equal amounts, the noncandidate
committee may select which of the top contributors to identify in the
advertisement; provided that the top contributors not identified in the
advertisement did not make a higher aggregate contribution than those top
contributors who are identified in the advertisement.
�
The additional notice required for noncandidate
committees described under this subsection shall start with the words "Three
of the top contributors for this advertisement are" or "Three of the
top contributors to this noncandidate committee are", as appropriate,
followed by the names of the three top contributors.
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(c)
�
This section shall not apply to
advertisements broadcast by radio or television of [
such
] short duration
that including a list of top contributors in the advertisement would constitute
a hardship to the noncandidate committee paying for the advertisement.
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A noncandidate committee shall be subject to
all other requirements under this part regardless of whether a hardship exists
pursuant to this subsection.
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The
commission shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to establish criteria to
determine when including a list of top contributors in an advertisement of
short duration constitutes a hardship to a noncandidate committee under this
subsection.
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(d)
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A noncandidate committee shall obtain a
statement of certification from each top contributor required to be listed in
an advertisement pursuant to this section avowing under penalty of perjury
that, after due inquiry, none of the funds contributed by the top contributor
were derived from a foreign corporation.
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If a noncandidate committee does not receive a statement of
certification from a top contributor, the advertisement shall include the
following statement:
�
"Some of the
funds used to pay for this message may have been provided by foreign
corporation".
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A noncandidate
committee may rely on a statement of certification provided by a top
contributor unless the noncandidate committee has actual knowledge that the
statement of certification is false.
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[
(d)
]
(e)
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Any noncandidate committee
that violates this section shall be subject to a minimum fine of $1,000 per
violation.
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[
(e)
]
(f)
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For purposes of this section,
"top contributor" means a contributor who has contributed an
aggregate amount of $10,000 or more to a noncandidate committee within a twelve‑month
period before the purchase of an advertisement."
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SECTION
5.
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Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to diminish or infringe upon any right protected under the First
Amendment of the Constitution of the United States or conflict with any federal
statute or regulation.
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SECTION
6.
�
If any provision of this Act, or the
application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the
invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the Act that can
be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end
the provisions of this Act are severable.
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SECTION
7.
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This Act does not affect rights and
duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were
begun before its effective date.
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SECTION
8.
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Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
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New statutory
material is underscored.
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SECTION 9.
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This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.
INTRODUCED BY:
_____________________________
Report Title:
Campaign
Finance; Foreign Corporations; Foreign Nationals
Description:
Amends
the prohibition against foreign nationals and foreign corporations making
campaign finance contributions and expenditures.
�
Requires every business entity that
contributes or expends funds in a state election to file a statement of
certification regarding its limited foreign influence.
�
Requires noncandidate committees making only
independent expenditures to obtain a statement of certification from each top
contributor required to be listed in an advertisement.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.