Governor should veto election finance bill
On one thing most people can agree: Hawai'i's campaign spending laws were in need of restructuring and clarifying.
That was the intent of House Bill 128 passed last session. But on balance this measure falls short. The goal should be to make the election process more accessible to the general public and less like an elite province, one inhabited by well-monied corporate interests.
That's why the bill deserves to be on Gov. Linda Lingle's list of possible vetoes, a roster that will be released tomorrow.
A court ruling issued last week seems to clear the way for corporations to give to a candidate's campaign committee to the same limits that individual donors must observe. The ideal would be to mirror federal law that bars corporate treasury donations altogether.
HB 128 doesn't address that issue, leaving it to the next session to strengthen corporate limits. Legislators should do so, although they may not have the stomach for more restrictive laws in an election year.
This is what makes a veto of HB 128 all the more critical. Among its flaws:
It's important that the Legislature persist in the effort to recodify and clarify these laws, admittedly the cause for great confusion.
But HB 128 is not the right vehicle. It needs to be retooled in a way that benefits average voters, not those already amply endowed with political influence.
