Grading State Disclosure 2008 Logo Graphic

H a w a i i

Honor
Grade
Rank
B
7

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Subcategories
Grade
Rank
Campaign Disclosure Law
A-
5
Electronic Filing Program
A+
1
Disclosure Content Accessibility
B-
28
Online Contextual & Technical Usability
B-
12

Grading Process green cube Subcategory Weighting green cube Methodology green cube Glossary

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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

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First published September 17, 2008
| Last updated September 17 2008
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Campaign Disclosure Project. All rights reserved.