In seeking the truth you have to get both sides of the story. ~ Walter Cronkite The naked truth is always better than the best dressed lie. ~ Ann Landers

1. POLITICS HAWAIIAN STYLE
WHERE HAS THE ALOHA GONE
IGE CALLS RIVAL'S FUNDRAISER 'A VERY CONCERNING EVENT'
At issue is a letter signed by top lawmakers seeking donations to Hanabusa's campaign
By Kevin Dayton. Honolulu Star-Advertiser
April 15, 2018, accessed April 15, 2018
https://www.pressreader.com/@Clifton_Hasegawa/csb_nNh1TJT3UaTkVyumAw95jd-QlsvFExPhfVVvH0ft1fE
STATE REPRESENTATIVE SYLVIA LUKE
CHAIR, HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE
“Kind of pathetic. I think this is an efort by a person who is signifcantly
losing in his polls, and all indications show that the chance of him losing
is likely, and he's grasping at everything.”
Luke described Ige as “almost like this desperate caged animal. He still
has a responsibility to help the state, and we're doing our best to work for
the state of Hawaii for the people, and we are going to continue to work
with the administration to come up with the best thing for our citizens,
and this is not helpful at all.”
“In spite of him being a crybaby, and in spite of him grasping at straws,
we are going to continue to work with the administration and we are going
to continue to come up with bills that will help the state, but if he wants to
be going on this warpath, then he will just no longer be relevant.”
“We will just deem him irrelevant, and we will work with his people to get
the best efort.”
ON THE FLIPSIDE
CARRYING COALS TO NEWCASTLE1
1 Coals to Newcastle - Any unnecessary activity. Before the days of railroading, goods and
commodities were transported by water. Coal in particular was shipped to port city of Newcastle
before being distributed to the rest of England. Therefore, unless you were the captain of a ship
laden with coal, carrying that kind of fossil fuel to Newcastle was a waste of your time and
energy. Source: The Free Dictionary by Farlex https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/coals+to+Newcastle

2. BILL TO PROHIBIT LAWMAKERS' FUNDRAISING WEAKENED,
BUT STILL ALIVE
By Keoki Kerr. HawaiiNewsNow.
February 21, 2015
Accessed April 15, 2018
http://m.hawaiinewsnow.com/hawaiinewsnow/db_/contentdetail.htm?full=true&contentguid=od
%3aNGNiF8GQ&pn=&ps=#display
A proposal that would ban state lawmakers from raising campaign funds
during the legislative session has been watered down considerably but the
bill's sponsor is thankful it fnally got a hearing after 20 years of being
dead on arrival.
Wahiawa State Rep. Marcus Oshiro said he frst introduced the proposal
20 years ago and it never got a hearing and died year after year until this
year, when it received a hearing Thursday.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 29 other states
place some restrictions on whether lawmakers can receive political
contributions during legislative sessions. But Hawaii has none.
“There may be some linkage between bills' passage, bill failures,
appropriations, confrmations being tied to campaign fundraising. This
would clear the deck, clear the air,” Oshiro said.
Oshiro introduced the bill, HB327, to prohibit lawmakers from accepting
or raising campaign funds during Hawaii's four-month legislative session.
“It cures the perception of a quid pro quo that many have in this state. It
has the endorsement of Common Cause Hawaii and the League of Women
Voters,” Oshiro said.
Carmille Lim, executive director of Common Cause Hawaii, said,
“We feel that this bill will help to alleviate some of the concerns of
inappropriate behavior and bribery that could happen during legislative
session and when legislators fundraise during session.”

3. Campaign spending reports show several State House members raised
most of their money for last year's campaign during last year's legislative
session.
State Rep. Ty Cullen brought in 59 percent of his campaign funds while
lawmakers were in session in 2014. House Speaker Joe Souki raised 57
percent of his campaign funds during that same period, followed by
Representatives Kaniela Ing and John Mizuno, who reported 51 and 48
percent of their campaign contributions during last year's legislative
session.
The House Judiciary committee weakened the proposal Thursday,
reducing the restriction on political donations to one week before fve key
legislative deadlines, for a total of fve weeks out of the four-month
session.
State Rep. Karl Rhoads, who chairs the committee, said, “There's still the
potential for abuse if you have people who, if they're purchasable, then
they're still going to be purchasable two weeks after session, just like they
were in the middle of session.”
“The amendments that we put in were to try to really target the crucial
points, the spots in the system where abuse is most likely,” Rhoads added.
Lim, of Common Cause, reacted to the changes to the bill this way: “Even
though it”s a lot weaker than we had hoped for, it's still a step forward.”
The State House Friday approved the proposal on second reading. It now
moves to the House fnance committee for further consideration.
Oshiro had a message for Rhoads Friday, and said, “Thank you very much
for having the guts to hear a bill like this. It's controversial, it's probably
going to raise the ire of some of his own colleagues but I think it's a step
in the right direction, and I really appreciate what he has done.”

4. REPORT FROM HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
REPRESENTATIVE KARL RHOADS, CHAIR
The purpose of this measure is to place restrictions on the solicitation and
acceptance of campaign contributions by a state legislator, their
employees, or a person acting on behalf of the legislature during
legislative sessions.
Specifcally, this measure:
(1) Prohibits legislators, their employees, or a person acting on behalf of
the legislator from conducting fundraisers during regular and special
sessions, including recess days, holidays, weekends, or extensions to any
legislative session;
(2) Provides an exemption to contributions postmarked prior to the
commencement of a regular or special session; and
(3) Repeals the $25 contribution threshold from the defnition of
“fundraiser”.
Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from
Common Cause Hawaii, Open Law Alliance, Hawaii Women's Coalition,
and six concerned individuals. The Campaign Spending Commission
submitted comments on this measure.
Your Committee fnds that there is a concern that fundraisers held by
legislators while the Legislature is in session provides an undue
opportunity for lobbyists to infuence public policy. However, the
measure as received by your Committee is overly broad in its scope and
may be unnecessarily restrictive. Consequently, in order to strengthen the
public's confdence in the legislative process and to avoid situations that
may be colored by impropriety, this measure has been amended to
prohibit certain fundraising activity during key legislative deadlines.
[Emphasis Supplied]

5. STATE-BY-STATE PROHIBITIONS ON CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS TO
LEGISLATIVE CANDIDATES FROM LOBBYISTS
Public Citizen, Washington, D.C. July 2011
https://www.citizen.org/sites/default/fles/state-lobbyists-contribution-restrictions.pdf
_______________________________________________________
UPDATED TIMELINE ON
HB327
BILL TO PROHIBIT LAWMAKERS' FUNDRAISING
2015 Archives
https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/Archives/measure_indiv_Archives.aspx?
billtype=HB&billnumber=327&year=2015
HB327 HD1
Measure Title: RELATING TO CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS.
Report Title: Political Fundraisers; Legislators
Description: Prohibits legislators, and persons acting on behalf of legislators,
from holding any fundraiser or receiving campaign contributions
during selected times of any regular legislative session. (HD1)
Companion:
Package: None
Current Referral: JUD, FIN
Introducer(s): OSHIRO, SAY
1/23/2015 H Pending introduction.
1/26/2015 H Introduced and Pass First Reading.
1/26/2015 H Referred to JUD, FIN, referral sheet 1
2/13/2015 H Bill scheduled to be heard by JUD on Thursday, 02-19-15 2:00PM in
House conference room 325.

6. 2/19/2015 H The committees on JUD recommend that the measure be PASSED,
WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 13 Ayes:
Representative(s) Rhoads, San Buenaventura, Belatti, Brower,
Creagan, Hashem, C. Lee, Morikawa, Nakashima, Takayama,
Woodson, McDermott, Thielen; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes:
none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Kawakami.
2/20/2015 H Reported from JUD (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 565) as amended in HD
1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.
2/20/2015 H Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the
committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none
voting no (0) and Ito excused (1).
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE (FIN)
CHAIR SYLVIA LUKE
FIN Measures Scheduled for Hearing (All Notices)
NO HEARINGS SCHEDULED
29th Legislature, 2018 – Legislative Calendar
Apr 5 First Crossover (Concurrent Resolutions)
Apr 6 Second Decking (Bills)
Apr 9 Recess #6
Apr 11 Recess #7
Apr 12 Second Crossover (Bills) & Disagree
Apr 16 Second Lateral (Senate Concurrent Resolutions)
Apr 20 Constitutional Amendments
Apr 23 Second Crossover (Concurrent Resolutions)
Apr 26 Final Decking (Non-Fiscal Bills)
Apr 27 Final Decking (Fiscal Bills)
Apr 30 Recess #8
May 2 Recess #9
May 3 ADJOURNMENT SINE DIE