The State of Disclosure in Hawaii
Despite
a drop from a B+ to a B, Hawaii maintained
a top ten ranking, and earned As and Bs in
all four categories in 2008. Hawaii’s
strong gains in the usability category were
offset by a drop in the accessibility category
caused by the lack of a current, searchable
database of campaign finances on the state’s
disclosure web site.
Hawaii
earned an A- and ranked 5th in the Campaign
Disclosure Law category in 2008. Campaigns
are required to itemize contributions of $100
or more, though occupation and employer data
is not disclosed until a donor gives $1,000.
The law’s strong points include requirements
for detailed disclosure of campaign expenses
(including subvendor data), loans, and independent
expenditures. Hawaii again earned an A+ and
number one ranking in the electronic filing
category in 2008. Following the passage of
House Bill 1130 in 2007, all statewide and
legislative candidates are required to file
disclosure reports electronically, regardless
of amounts raised and spent, and exemptions
are no longer made.
Hawaii
fell from an A+ to a B- and dropped 26 places
since 2007 in the accessibility rankings
due to the lack of an up-to-date online,
searchable database of campaign finances.
The state’s
new “Candidate Filing System” came
online in 2007 and gives the public immediate
access to electronic disclosure reports, but
it does not allow users to search the database
for contributions or expenditures as the state’s
previous database did. In the Candidate Filing
System, the public can sort through itemized
transactions in a number of ways, but cannot,
for example, enter the name of a specific donor
and view their contributions as they could
through the older database. While Hawaii does
maintain public access to the older disclosure
systems containing searchable campaign data
through 2006, the lack of a current, searchable
database is a setback for the state’s
historically strong accessibility performance.
With
a stronger performance on the 2008 usability
test, and additional resources for the public
to compare candidates’ campaign finances,
Hawaii jumped from a D to a B- in the usability
category in 2008. Usability testers reported
higher levels of confidence in 2008 and rated
their overall experience with the site more
favorably than testers did in 2007. The Campaign
Spending Commission’s site features excellent
contextual information such as detailed lists
of candidates, as well as overviews of the
totals raised and spent by state-level candidates
in recent and past elections. To make the site
more user-friendly, the agency could provide
more description of the data available in the
new system and provide clear instructions for
accessing it.
→ Quick
Fix: Provide an overview of
the data contained within the “Candidate
Filing System” that explains
which candidates, reports, and
time periods are contained within
the database.
♦ Editor’s
Pick: Clean, attractive
design of the “Candidate Filing
System” site. View image
Disclosure Agency: Campaign Spending Commission
Disclosure Web Site: http://www.state.hi.us/campaign |