Advisory Opinion 99-07

     This Advisory Opinion responds to two questions raised by a local political party regarding campaign spending registration requirements and contribution limits for County and District political party organizations. It is the Commission’s understanding that the first question is whether the campaign spending laws and regulations require County and District party organizations, who raise and expend funds independent of the State committee or organization, to register as a noncandidate committee. The Commission understands the second question to be whether Hawaii Revised Statutes ("HRS") §§11-204(b) or 11-204(l) provides the statutory limit for contributions to a "local" political party committee or organization.

     The campaign spending statutes or administrative rules do not specifically reference or define "County" or "District" party organizations (hereinafter County and District political party organization and local political party committee shall be referred to as "local party organization" or "LPO"). For the purpose of this advisory opinion, the Commission will assume that the local party organizations referred to in the inquiry letter are synonymous with "county committees" of the political party as referenced to in HRS §11-61. This includes the additional assumption that the LPO is an active member in the general organization of the "state" or "central" committee (hereinafter referred to as "State Party"). HRS §11-61(a) defines a political party as an association of voters brought together to promote a particular political policy, including central and county committees, who maintain a general organization throughout the State. The assumption made in this opinion only applies to the facts and information available to the Commission and may be amended upon receipt of adequate information refuting the Commission’s assumption regarding the specific identities, purpose and responsibilities of the local party organizations.

     The Commission has applied the broad interpretation of the applicable statutes and rules to allow noncandidate committee registration by local party organizations. HRS §11-191 defines "noncandidate committee" as any committee other than a candidate committee which is an "organization, association, or individual that accepts or makes a contribution or makes an expenditure for or against any" candidate, future candidate, or party. Also, HRS §11-191 provides that any committee that accepts or makes contributions or expends in the aggregate of more than $1,000 per election shall register with the Commission and file periodic reports. Therefore, a State Party becomes a noncandidate committee when contribution or expenditure activities aggregate more than $1,000 during an election period. A LPO securing contributions and making expenditures in excess of $1,000 per election period may be considered to be noncandidate committee and will be allowed to register and file reports separately if that committee chooses to do so.

     However, an LPO or any other committee that promotes a common political end and participates in the general organization of the State Party shall be considered to be one person by the Commission pursuant to HRS §11-204(f). Section 11-204(f), Hawaii Revised Statutes, provides in part that:

"contributions or expenditure activity … financed, maintained, or controlled by any … political party …including any parent, subsidiary, branch, division, department, or local unit of the … political party, or any other person, or by any group of those persons shall be considered to be made by a single person."

As stated previously, the Commission will assume that all of the LPOs in the party’s general organization participate in that party’s promotion of the party’s political policy. Consequently, the Commission would not require local party organizations to register and file separately from the State Party nor would the Commission prohibit those committees from registering and filing reports separately. Therefore, in response to the first question posed, the County, District or local political party organizations may choose to register and file reports separately or combine their reports with the "state" or "central" committee. The State Party who receives or expends over $1,000 in an election period is required to register and file reports as a noncandidate committee.

     The determination of the second question regarding which contribution limits should apply to "local political party organizations" relies upon the above assumption regarding the identity of the "local political party organizations." HRS, §11-204(b) provides the contribution limit to a noncandidate committee and provides in pertinent part:

(b) No person or any other entity shall make contributions to a noncandidate committee in an aggregate amount greater than $1,000 in an election; …

     Considering the fact that this opinion assumes that the local party organizations are part of the State Party and addresses the status of a political party and its committees, the appropriate statutory reference is HRS, §11-204(k) because that statutory provision specifically identifies "committees" and "political party". HRS, §11-204(k) (as amended by Act 187 and Act 96, 1999 session) provides as follows:

(k) No person or any other entity other than political committees established and maintained by a national political party shall make contributions to a political party in an aggregate amount greater than $25,000 in any two-year election period. No political committee established and maintained by a national political party, shall make contributions to a political party in an aggregate amount greater than $50,000 in any two-year election period.

As briefly mentioned above HRS, §11-61 defines a political party in part as follows:

"an association of voters united for the purpose of promoting a common political end or carrying out a particular line of political policy and which maintains a general organization throughout the State, including a regularly constituted central committee and county committees in each county other than Kalawao." HRS, §11-61 also requires that political parties must meet other requirements such as having candidates running for election and receiving a minimum number of votes.

Political parties qualify as noncandidate committees under the campaign spending law and are required to register and file reports as noncandidate committees. However, these political parties are provided with an exemption from the contribution limits imposed by HRS §11-204(b) on other noncandidate committees. Any person or entity willing to contribute to a political party and their subsidiaries, as defined in HRS §11-61, is subject to a contribution limit of $25,000 in any two-year election period as provided by HRS §11-204(k).

     All contributions by any person to the LPO and the State Party shall be aggregated and considered as a single contribution for purposes of contribution limits to the party. It would be a violation of the campaign spending laws for one person or entity to contribute to various committees and sub-organizations of the State Party any amount of funds that would, in aggregate, exceed the contribution limit. Therefore, the answer to the second question is that HRS, §11-204(k) would provide the applicable statutory contribution limits for contributions to a political party and its committees. A local party organization and the State Party shall not collectively accept more than $25,000 from any single person or entity in a two-year election period.

     Another related issue that needs additional clarification at this point is the contribution limits applicable to political parties and their committees when those political parties seek to contribute funds or anything of value to a candidate’s campaign for office. In 1999, the Legislature significantly amended HRS §§11-204 and 11-205 through Act 187. Act 187 amended the campaign spending law to require that the specific dollar limits on contributions by political parties and their committees to candidates be identical to the limits provided for any person or entity as set forth in HRS §11-204(a). Therefore, the political party and its committees must ensure that they do not collectively exceed the contribution limits provided by HRS §11-204(a). LPO may contribute $6,000 to a candidate for governor, but that would prevent the State Party or any other LPO from making any further contributions to that candidate for the election period.

     This Advisory Opinion is provided by the Commission as a means of stating its current interpretation of the Hawaii Election Campaign Contributions and Expenditures laws provided under HRS § 11-191, et seq. and the administrative rules of the Commission provided in chapter 2-14, Hawaii Administrative Rules. The Commission may adopt, revise, or revoke this Advisory Opinion upon its own initiative or upon the enactment of amendments to the Hawaii Revised Statutes or the adoption of amendments to the administrative rules by the Commission.

Dated: Honolulu, Hawaii, February 29, 2000.

CAMPAIGN SPENDING COMMISSION

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A. Duane Black
Chairperson

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Della Au
Commissioner

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Andrea Low
Commissioner

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E. Elizabeth Lee
Commissioner