Act 11 Is Under Attack. Two Lawsuits Now Challenge Hawaiʻi’s Historic Reform
Earlier this year, Hawaiʻi made history by passing Act 11 (SB 2471), a first-in-the-nation effort to challenge the influence of corporate money in our elections.
Now, Act 11 is facing two separate federal lawsuits.
The first was filed in June by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaiʻi, which argues that Act 11 violates the First Amendment. The national ACLU has filed a brief supporting Grassroot’s challenge, raising concerns about the law’s potential impact on nonprofit advocacy. ACLU Hawaiʻi is not involved in the lawsuit.
On the other side, the Campaign Legal Center and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), along with the Center for American Progress in a separate brief, are supporting the State’s defense of the law.
The first major court hearing is October 13. Senior Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi will hear arguments on Grassroot’s request to temporarily block the law and the State’s motion to dismiss the case.
Separately, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a second lawsuit in September seeking to block Act 11. Notably, the Chamber of Commerce Hawaiʻi has said it will not participate in the national Chamber’s lawsuit, although the U.S. Chamber has retained Honolulu law firm Cades Schutte as local counsel.
These cases could have implications beyond Hawaiʻi. Act 11 takes a novel legal approach: rather than directly regulating political speech, it limits the powers Hawaiʻi grants to corporations and other artificial entities, including the power to spend money to influence elections and ballot measures. That approach is now being tested in federal court.
Learn more:
• KHON2 — Hawaiʻi Act 11 and Dark Money
• Civil Beat — Lines Being Drawn on Citizens United Might Surprise You
• POLITICO — Coverage of the U.S. Chamber’s lawsuit
HAPA supported Act 11 because our elections should be driven by people, not unlimited corporate spending. We’ll continue following both lawsuits and will share updates following the October 13 hearing.
Mahalo for standing with us in the fight for a democracy that works for the people.
