Lobbyists are still the top donors, but they no longer can give lawmakers money while they’re in session.
State lawmakers aren’t raking in a lot of campaign cash during the legislative session anymore, according to recently filed campaign spending reports.
This year, members of the House and Senate reported raising just over $45,000 during the session that ran from mid-January to early May. That’s 10 times less than in previous years and the lowest in at least a decade.
Much of that dropoff could be attributed to a ban on in-session donations from lobbyists, which went into effect last year.
Organizations and individuals lobbying the Legislature still topped the list of donors for the first six months of the year, but those donations primarily came after the session ended.
Park Hotels, which owns the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikīkī, was the top donor to state lawmakers. It testified against House Bill 1639, which would have taken a scythe to tax credits, including those the hotel company says it relies on to do business in Hawaiʻi.
Labor unions were also major donors, as were two lobbying firms — MK Advocacy and SanHi Government Strategies — that had dozens of clients seeking to influence legislation.
Although there were few donations during the session, state legislators still raised a total of $460,000 in the first six months of the year. During the same period in 2023, the last non-election year, they raised a total of $526,854.
Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole of Kāneʻohe, who recently announced a run for Congress, raised the most funds among legislators.
Notably, 24 legislators did not receive any individual donations of more than $100, the threshold at which donations must be reported to the Campaign Spending Commission.
Office holders at all levels of government reported raising a total of more than $1.4 million. Half of that went to just two campaign committees — those of Gov. Josh Green and Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke.
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About the Author
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Blaze Lovell is a reporter for Civil Beat. He was born and raised on Oʻahu. You can reach him at blovell@civilbeat.org or at 808-650-1585.