New campaign finance regulations allowed to become law this week by Gov. Linda Lingle should make it easier for the public to follow the race for something almost as important as votes in politics — money.

The 107-page measure, known as Act 211 or House Bill 2003, rewrites the campaign finance laws to make them easier to understand. But the bill also introduces a handful of new changes that bolster transparency of corporate donations, allow a greater percentage of out-of-state contributions, and increase the amount of donations that candidates can make to community organizations.

“The intent of the recodification was a technical cleanup, just because it hasn’t occurred since (the law) was first written in 1973,” said Barbara Wong, executive director of the State of Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission. “It’s something we saw that needed to be done for everybody — the public’s sake, the candidates’ sake and for our sake.”

But lawmakers also took the opportunity to make some substantive changes.

“Ninety-five to 98 percent of the bill is really nonsubstantive in terms of changes,” said House Majority Leader Blake Oshiro, a member of the House Judiciary Committee that worked on the measure. “But there are a few minor changes in the law.”

One controversial issue that did not make it into the bill was a potential cap on corporate donations. Some advocated for a complete ban on corporate support or a very low limit. Lawmakers, however, were not able to come to an agreement.

“Now (the donations) are more transparent, but the bill did not attempt to grapple with the issue of limited corporate contributions,” Oshiro said. “At the end of the day, through several iterations, we tried to come up with a compromise but couldn’t come up with a one. So that issue was not addressed.”

The new measure brings three main changes:

• Corporations that donate more than $100 to a candidate must file a disclosure report, which includes the name of the corporation, the business address, a contact individual and amount contributed. Corporations also must file a report when they make contributions that add up to more than $1,000 over a two-year election period. This is meant to make it clear which businesses are backing candidates. The new law was a response to a 2009 court case, Charmaine Tavares v. Wong, that ruled that corporations were not noncandidate committees. Lingle objected that the new reporting obligations on corporations are not required of labor unions, key backers of Democratic candidates. This section of the law will be effective as a January 1, 2011.

• Out-of-state contributions can now account for a greater percentage of a campaign’s finances, up to 30 percent for the entire campaign, from 20 percent for each filing period. This section of the law is effective immediately.

• Candidates can donate twice as much of their campaign funds as in the past to community organizations.The new law creates a separate category for schools and libraries. No donations to the other community organizations, however, may be made between the filing of nomination papers and the general election. This section of the law is effective immediately.

Many of the changes will govern an election season already stained by scuffles over campaign finance law. Mayor Mufi Hannemann and former Congressman Neil Abercrombie, both candidates in the governor’s race, each had a brush with campaign finance law last month. When Hannemann went to Washington last month and dropped in on Pittsburgh to meet with donors, his campaign failed to file notice of a fundraiser before the event took place. Abercrombie, meanwhile, held a Washington fundraiser in April and filed his notice several hours late. The Abercrombie campaign was fined $50, and the Hannemann campaign is still under investigation.

The first polling booths won’t open until September, but last week marked a quiet but potentially telling milestone for campaign finance in Hawaii.

Congressional candidates will have to file a quarterly fundraising report by July 15, detailing what they collected and spent in the quarter ending June 30.

June 30 was also the last day of the most recent filing period for local elections. That report, covering the first half of this year, is due Aug. 2.

Those reports will provide a look at the level of support the campaigns are generating and the source of their finances.

The most hotly-contested congressional race in the state is the 1st Congressional District, which Republican Charles Djou won in a special election in May. Djou, now the incumbent in a seat formerly held by Abercrombie, will likely face Senate President Colleen Hanabusa in November. According to the most recent data available, from June 11 reports, Djou had $216,485 on hand, while Hanabusa had $150,852.

This next filing will show the level of support the candidates have been able to generate. The numbers are critical for their political parties, which must decide whether and how much to spend on electing their candidates.

“It’s one important indicator of how much enthusiasm the candidate has been able to engender,” said Neal Milner, a political science professor at the University of Hawaii.

For a Republican incumbent like Djou, a well-funded campaign could indicate to a chance at keeping a coveted seat in an overwhelmingly blue state and attract more money from the party.

“In this election, it’s going to be crucial because it’s the first time since the dinosaurs that this district is actually in play,” Milner said. “If you have a shot at winning and you’re the incumbent, the national party is going to toss a lot of money toward you. Otherwise, (they’re) not going to bother.”

We’ll be sharing the campaign finance reports and notices for fundraising events with you and letting you know where the candidates are spending their fundraising time and with whom.

We’ll also be connecting money with the bigger picture. What does their fundraising and spending tell us about the kind of elected officials candidates would be? Our goal: to help you make the best decision about the right candidate for you to support.

Stay tuned as we keep you updated on the latest.

DISCUSSION: What do you expect the first campaign filings to reveal? Share your thoughts in our Hawaii politics discussion.