Summary

Hawaii’s Democratic governor signed into law a bill on Thursday aimed at reducing the influence of corporations and difficult-to-trace “dark money” groups in politics, the Associated Press reported. The measure responds to the legal landscape shaped by the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which struck down limits on corporate and union election spending.

The new Hawaii law, which takes effect July 1, 2027, uses what supporters described as a novel approach: it redefines corporations in a way that precludes corporate spending on elections. The bill also targets spending by groups that can spend unlimited amounts on politics while avoiding meaningful disclosure, often referred to as “dark money” in campaign finance discussions.

The AP reported that the law drew opposition from Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez, a Democrat, who argued it would be difficult and costly to defend in court. Lopez’s concerns focused on the likelihood of litigation over whether the approach can withstand constitutional scrutiny.

Supporters and legal strategists have framed the measure as part of a broader effort to curb corporate and outside influence since the Supreme Court decision. Tom Moore, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, said the law represents a step to reduce corporate and dark money influence, calling it a message “heard loud and clear across the Pacific and across the mainland.”

The Supreme Court case Citizens United, decided in 2010, struck down a ban on corporate and union election spending as long as the entities do not donate directly to candidates or campaigns. The case involved a conservative group, Citizens United, that sought to run television commercials promoting an anti-Hillary Clinton movie during the 2008 presidential campaign.

In the years since Citizens United, outside political spending has expanded significantly, according to campaign finance watchdog reporting cited by the AP. OpenSecrets tracked more than $4 billion in outside political spending in the 2024 federal elections—nearly 12 times as much as in 2008—while the Brennan Center for Justice tallied a record $1.9 billion of “dark money” spending in 2024.

The AP report also said that “dark money” has not been limited to federal contests, and that it has played a part in state-level races as well. In Montana, a volunteer group is gathering signatures to put a similar issue to voters in November, signaling that other states may pursue comparable strategies.