U.S. Supreme Court decision places cloud on publicly funded campaigns

HONOLULU—Last Tuesday, all eyes were on some hotly contested primaries, but there was also a decision by the United States Supreme Court that may have an impact on publicly funded campaigns across the country, Hawaii included. The Supreme Court temporarily blocked Arizona from distributing matching campaign funds to publicly funded candidates.

What does this mean in Hawaii?

For the 2010 election, the County of Hawaii was given the authority by the Legislature to conduct a pilot program using matching or equalizing funds for the Hawaii County Council races. The bill, HB661 became law as Act 244 without the Governor’s signature. It established the pilot program for Hawaii County only, and for three election cycles starting with the 2010 election.

At this time, the pilot program for Hawaii County Council races is going forward, but the future of the program is uncertain until the U.S. Supreme Court takes further action.

From HawaiiHouseBlog.blogspot.com.