House Committee on Finance (FIN) - chair: Sylvia Luke, vice chair: Scott Y. Nishimoto and Aaron Johanson

Wednesday, February 27, 2013, 11:30 A..M.. Conference Room 308

Testifier: Wynnie Hee, LWV Legislative Committee Member

Click here to view HB1147, HD1

Chair Luke, Vice Chairs and Members: The League of Women Voters of Hawaii supports HB 1147 HD1, which would increase transparency in campaign spending by requiring noncandidate committees – PACs and Super PACs -- to identify certain top contributors, directly or indirectly, to advertisements. In today’s unlimited campaign spending environment, in order for citizens to “follow the money,” we must require noncandidate committees that are making only independent expenditures to name at least their top donors to either their advertisements or, if unknown, then to the non-candidate committee itself. For example, if a noncandidate committee has many contributors but none have contributed specifically for the advertisement, then the “top contributors to the noncandidate committee itself” need to be named in the advertisement. According to OpenSecrets.org, at least $6 billion was spent nationwide in the 2012 election cycle. Need we remind you that even locally, all told, an unprecedented $4 million was spent by the candidates and a Super PAC on a single race –the City and County of Honolulu mayoral race? This Super PAC outspent the candidate targeted by its negative ads by over ten to one, over $3 million compared to the $300,000 spent by the targeted candidate. Please help to renew the public’s confidence in our election process and in our public officials. More disclosure is urgently needed. Let us see who is behind the enormous amounts of money spent to influence the outcome our elections. The League of Women Voters of Hawaii believes that this is an important, much needed bill. We urge you to pass HB1147 HD1. Thank you for this opportunity to submit testimony.