Hawai‘i ‘clean elections bill’ gutted at last moment

LIHU‘E — State legislators made significant last-minute revisions this week to a bill aimed at publicly financing elections, transforming what would have been a radical shift in Hawai‘i’s politics into a one-year pilot program missing half of its funds.

Senate and House conferees met during conference committee on Wednesday to reach an agreement on the future of Senate Bill 1543, originally set to create an opt-in system for state and local electoral candidates to receive full public financing for campaigns.

In the process, the legislators indicated they had cut out several aspects of the so-called “clean elections” bill, which were set to create the most substantial changes.

Most notably, the bill’s effective date was pushed back two years — meaning the program would go into effect for the 2028 electoral cycle rather than 2026 — and added an expiration date in 2029, effectively turning it into a one-off experiment.

Additionally, the revised bill would require $15 million for the program to run, although only half would be given upfront — the other $7.5 million would need to be allocated prior to the bill’s 2027 effective date, or else the program would be canceled. Previous estimates placed necessary costs closer to $30 million.

“Moving it to the ‘28 election means there won’t be a governor’s race in that, so it’ll bring down the potential number of high-price campaigns,” explained co-committee chair David Tarnas (D-District 8) during the conference.

The conferees also included in the draft bill a lottery system in the event that there are more qualifying candidates than funds. Under these changes, candidates picked in the lottery would receive full funding, while those left out would receive nothing.

Following the conferees’ announcement, several proponents of SB 1543 voiced strong opposition to the changes, arguing that the revisions water down the bill’s intended goal of combating political corruption.

“This program will only work if it’s used every election cycle, not just once,” said Heather Ferguson, director of state operations at Common Cause, a government reform watchdog group. “The Legislature needs to show up if they truly want to stand against the corrupting influence of money in politics and make this program permanent.”

Evan Weber, co-founder of progressive super PAC (political action committee) Our Hawai‘i — who had originally announced the bill alongside state Sen. Karl Rhoads (D-District 13) in early January — criticized the Legislature’s decision to shift to a pilot program, arguing that Hawai‘i County’s 2010 pilot program already proved full public financing could work.

“The only reason that program stopped is because they refused to fund it further, which is also what we’re seeing as a possible risk here,” he said. “So it’s hard to read any of the changes that were proposed in the draft as good faith at all and, really, it seems like the interests of some legislators is maintaining the status quo.”

Weber continued, expressing disappointment in the Legislature for abandoning the bill’s more significant proposals.

“Senate President (Ron) Kouchi and House Speaker Scott Saiki told us and promised us that we were going to see big headline change,” he continued. “So far, there have been tweaks around the edges, but this legislation is widely regarded as the biggest thing that would cut down the culture of corruption where it starts at the root — in our elections. And so I think if they don’t intervene and make sure that a strong program is passed, that’s something that leadership of the House and Senate is going to have to respond to.”

No decision has been made on whether to accept the revised version of SB 1543 as of press time. If the draft bill is successful, it will go before the full state House and Senate for final votes.

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Jackson Healy, reporter, can be reached at 808-647-4966 or jhealy@thegardenisland.com.