Hawaii Revised Statutes 11-315 – Advisory opinions
Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 11-315
- Candidate: means an individual who seeks nomination for election or seeks election to office. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 11-302
- Candidate committee: means an organization, association, or individual that receives campaign funds, makes expenditures, or incurs financial obligations on behalf of a candidate with the candidate's authorization. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 11-302
- Commission: means the campaign spending commission. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 11-302
- Noncandidate committee: means an organization, association, party, or individual that has the purpose of making or receiving contributions, making expenditures, or incurring financial obligations to influence the nomination for election, or the election, of any candidate to office, or for or against any question or issue on the ballot; provided that a noncandidate committee does not include:
(1) A candidate committee; (2) Any individual making a contribution or making an expenditure of the individual's own funds or anything of value that the individual originally acquired for the individual's own use and not for the purpose of evading any provision of this part; or (3) Any organization that raises or expends funds for the sole purpose of producing and disseminating informational or educational communications that are not made to influence the outcome of an election, question, or issue on a ballot. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 11-302 - Person: means an individual, a partnership, a candidate committee or noncandidate committee, a party, an association, a corporation, a business entity, an organization, or a labor union and its auxiliary committees. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 11-302
The commission may render written advisory opinions upon the request of any candidate, candidate committee, noncandidate committee, or other person or entity subject to this part, as to whether the facts and circumstances of a particular case constitute or will constitute a violation under this part. If no advisory opinion is rendered within ninety days after all information necessary to issue an opinion has been obtained, it shall be deemed that an advisory opinion was rendered and that the facts and circumstances of that particular case do not constitute a violation under this part. The opinion rendered or deemed rendered, until amended or revoked, shall be binding on the commission in any subsequent charges concerning the candidate, any candidate committee or noncandidate committee, or other person or entity subject to this part, who sought the opinion and acted in reliance on it in good faith, unless material facts were omitted or misstated by the requester in the request for an advisory opinion. Nothing in this section shall be construed to allow the commission to issue rules through an advisory opinion.