Corporate Reporting System Information

Corporate Reporting System (“CRS”)

Effective January 1, 2011, corporations are required to file a report with the Campaign Spending Commission (“Commission”) for contributions from its own treasury that aggregate more than $1,000 per two year election period made directly to a candidate or candidate committee.  See, Hawaii Revised Statutes (“HRS”) Section 11-332(a).

Accordingly, the Commission has developed the CRS which launched on March 31, 2011.  No training classes will be scheduled but a Corporate Administrator-User Guide is available on our website.  The CRS is modeled after the Candidate Filing System and the Noncandidate Committee Filing System.

Filing the “Electronic Filing Form”
To file reports with the Commission, corporations must complete and file an "Electronic Filing Form” to obtain a username and password.

Electronic Filing Form - Corporation (Rev. 09/11) (Writable form)

Coporations must designate a contact individual for their corporation and provide the name, phone number, and e-mail address on the form.  Completed forms can be mailed, delivered, or faxed to the Commission at (808) 586-0288.  E-mailed forms will not be accepted.

Obtaining the Username and Password for Filing Reports
A username and password for an Administrator and a User will be e-mailed by the Commission to the e-mail address provided on the Electronic Filing Form.  The website address for the CRS login page will be provided in the e-mail.

Logging in for the First Time
Users will login to the CRS using the Administrator username and password.  The name of the corporation, business address, contact individual's name, phone number, and e-mail address taken from the Electronic Filing Form will be entered into the CRS by the Commission.  This information will be included on the filed reports to satisfy the requirements in HRS Section 11-332(b) which provides in pertinent part:

(b) The filing shall include the name of the corporation, business address, a contact individual…

Changing the Name of the Corporation and Contact Individual Information
The name of the corporation cannot be changed in the CRS without filing a new Electronic Filing Form (it will be a locked field).  However, the business address, and the contact individual's name, phone number, and e-mail address can all be changed in the CRS.

When is the First Report Due
The new law for corporate reporting is effective January 1, 2011.  Therefore, the first report for corporations that contribute to a candidate or candidate committee in aggregate of more than $1,000 in the period of January 1 through June 30, 2011, is the Supplemental Report due August 1, 2011.

Reporting Schedule
Corporations must file reports pursuant to HRS Section 11-332(a) which provides:

(a) A corporation shall file a report with the commission for contributions from its own treasury that aggregate more than $1,000 per two year election period made directly to a candidate or candidate committee; provided that this section shall not authorize contributions to a candidate or candidate committee where otherwise prohibited by this part. The reporting shall be made pursuant to the time requirements contained in section 11-336 and section 11-338.

The time requirements in HRS Sections 11-336 (disclosure reports) and 11-338 (late contribution reports) refer to reports required by noncandidate committees.  As a result, the reporting schedule for corporations will be identical to the reporting schedule for noncandidate committees.

Reporting Schedule (February, 2011)

Corporations that exceed the $1,000 threshold for the first time in any reporting period must file the report due for that period. Corporations will only enter contributions made to candidates that are more than $100, pursuant to HRS Section 11-332(b) which provides that the filing include amounts contributed that are more than $100 to each candidate or candidate committee.  The CRS allows users to select from a list of candidates provided by the Commission.  Corporations will enter the date and amount for monetary contributions made to candidates, as well as the date, amount and description for nonmonetary contributions made to candidates.

Two-Year Election Period for Aggregating Contributions
The two-year election period for aggregating contributions starts January 1, 2011 and runs through November 6, 2012.  A two-year election period normally starts the day after a general election (i.e., November 3, 2010) but because the law went into effect on January 1, 2011, the Commission will be starting from January 1, 2011.  See, HRS Section 11-302 “Election period."

Corporate Contribution Limits
Corporations may contribute unlimited amounts from their "own treasury" but are subject to the candidate contribution limits of $2,000, $4,000 and $6,000, depending on the office that a candidate is seeking.  See, HRS Section 11-357 and the Candidate Contribution Limits information.