(a) An advertisement shall contain an additional notice in a prominent location immediately after or below the notices required by section 11-391, if the advertisement is broadcast, televised, circulated, or published, including by electronic means, and is paid for by a noncandidate committee that certifies to the commission that it makes only independent expenditures. This additional notice shall start with the words, “The three top contributors for this advertisement are”, followed by the names of the three top contributors, as defined in subsection (e), who made the highest aggregate contributions to the noncandidate committee for the purpose of funding the advertisement; provided that:

Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 11-393

  • Advertisement: means any communication, excluding sundry items such as bumper stickers, that:

    (1) Identifies a candidate directly or by implication, or identifies an issue or question that will appear on the ballot at the next applicable election; and
    (2) Advocates or supports the nomination, opposition, or election of the candidate, or advocates the passage or defeat of the issue or question on the ballot. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 11-302
  • Commission: means the campaign spending commission. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 11-302
  • Contribution: means :

    (1) A gift, subscription, deposit of money or anything of value, or cancellation of a debt or legal obligation and includes the purchase of tickets to fundraisers, for the purpose of:
    (A) Influencing the nomination for election, or the election, of any person to office;
    (B) Influencing the outcome of any question or issue that has been certified to appear on the ballot at the next applicable election; or
    (C) Use by any candidate committee or noncandidate committee for the purpose of subparagraph (A) or (B);
    (2) The payment, by any person or party other than a candidate, candidate committee, or noncandidate committee, of compensation for the services of another person that are rendered to the candidate, candidate committee, or noncandidate committee without charge or at an unreasonably low charge for a purpose listed in paragraph (1);
    (3) A contract, promise, or agreement to make a contribution; or
    (4) Any loans or advances that are not documented or disclosed to the commission as provided in section 11-372;

    "Contribution" does not include:

    (1) Services voluntarily provided without compensation by individuals to or on behalf of a candidate, candidate committee, or noncandidate committee;
    (2) A candidate's expenditure of the candidate's own funds; provided that this expenditure shall be reportable as other receipts and expenditures;
    (3) Any loans or advances to the candidate committee; provided that these loans or advances shall be reported as loans; or
    (4) An individual, candidate committee, or noncandidate committee engaging in internet activities for the purpose of influencing an election if:
    (A) The individual, candidate committee, or noncandidate committee is uncompensated for the internet activities; or
    (B) The individual, candidate committee, or noncandidate committee uses equipment or services for uncompensated internet activities, regardless of who owns the equipment and services. 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
(1) If a noncandidate committee is only able to identify two top contributors who made contributions for the purpose of funding the advertisement, the additional notice shall start with the words, “The two top contributors for this advertisement are”, followed by the names of the two top contributors;
(2) If a noncandidate committee is able to identify only one top contributor who made contributions for the purpose of funding the advertisement, the additional notice shall start with the words, “The top contributor for this advertisement is”, followed by the name of the top contributor;
(3) If a noncandidate committee is unable to identify any top contributors who made contributions for the purpose of funding the advertisement, the additional notice shall start with the words, “The three top contributors for this noncandidate committee are”, followed by the names of the three top contributors who made the highest aggregate contributions to the noncandidate committee; and
(4) If there are no top contributors to the noncandidate committee, the noncandidate committee shall not be subject to this section.

In no case shall a noncandidate committee be required to identify more than three top contributors pursuant to this section.

(b) If a noncandidate committee has more than three top contributors who contributed in equal amounts, the noncandidate committee may select which of the top contributors to identify in the advertisement; provided that the top contributors not identified in the advertisement did not make a higher aggregate contribution than those top contributors who are identified in the advertisement. The additional notice required for noncandidate committees described under this subsection shall start with the words “Three of the top contributors for this advertisement are” or “Three of the top contributors to this noncandidate committee are”, as appropriate, followed by the names of the three top contributors.
(c) This section shall not apply to advertisements broadcast by radio or television of such short duration that including a list of top contributors in the advertisement would constitute a hardship to the noncandidate committee paying for the advertisement. A noncandidate committee shall be subject to all other requirements under this part regardless of whether a hardship exists pursuant to this subsection. The commission shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to establish criteria to determine when including a list of top contributors in an advertisement of short duration constitutes a hardship to a noncandidate committee under this subsection.
(d) Any noncandidate committee that violates this section shall be subject to a minimum fine of $1,000 per violation.
(e) For purposes of this section, “top contributor” means a contributor who has contributed an aggregate amount of $10,000 or more to a noncandidate committee within a twelve-month period before the purchase of an advertisement.

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