Disappeared News

by Larry Geller

Carelessly, a legislator revealed in front of an open mike what we’ve known all along: they want to change Hawaii’s restrictive campaign spending laws so that they can have more money. The secret, if anyone didn’t know it already, is now out. Citizens and advocates be damned, the state House seems bent on changing the law to fatten their own campaign chests.

This is a snippet from testimony on one of the campaign finance bills before the House Finance Committee. Probably you’re not interested in the details being discussed, though there are mine fields in it, such as the potential for unlimited out-of-state contributions if they do this wrong. To hear the careless legislator drop the truth, push the slider over to about 2:05 and listen carefully. “We need more money…” and the rest is unintelligible because the committee chair is also speaking.

Title: Hawaii legislator:We Need More Money

Generally speaking, legislators sit on one side of a long table and hear testimony on a bill, ask questions, then weigh the pros and cons. Rarely—it does happen—a legislator gives their own testimony to a committee. In that case, they sit in the “hot seat” to do it, just like everyone else does.

What we are seeing now is a legislature that wants to change laws on its own initiative, from its own side of the table, to benefit its own members. Across the table come citizens and advocates who want to keep current limits, or if they could, ban corporate contributions altogether. It’s an unfair situation, to say the least.

Money, money, money
Must be funny
In the rich man's world
Money, money, money
Always sunny
In the rich man's world
Aha-ahaaa
All the things I could do
If I had a little money
It's a rich man's world

(from Abba, Money, money, money)

There’s nothing funny about legislators wanting to dip into corporate treasuries. Those “contributions” have to be paid back, somehow, or they don’t keep coming.

The Finance committee has deferred HB215 twice. Who knows what they’re putting into it. We’ll probably find out tonight. The hearing is being televised on Olelo Channel 49 live and streaming here. Regardless of what they do with it, it goes to the full House for a vote. More on this later, stay tuned.

Permalink posted by Larry @ 3/03/2009 06:46:00 PM