(a) Any person who recklessly, knowingly, or intentionally violates any provision of this part shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, unless another criminal penalty is specified.

Attorney's Note

Under the Hawaii Revised Statutes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class C felonyup to 5 yearsup to $10,000
misdemeanorup to 1 year$2,000
For details, see Haw. Rev. Stat. § 706-660 and Haw. Rev. Stat. § 706-663

Ask a legal question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 11-412

  • Advertisement: means any communication, excluding sundry items such as bumper stickers, that:

    (1) Identifies a candidate directly or by implication, or identifies an issue or question that will appear on the ballot at the next applicable election; and
    (2) Advocates or supports the nomination, opposition, or election of the candidate, or advocates the passage or defeat of the issue or question on the ballot. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 11-302
  • Commission: means the campaign spending commission. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 11-302
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • county: includes the city and county of Honolulu. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 1-22
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
  • Office: means any Hawaii elective public or constitutional office, excluding county neighborhood board and federal elective offices. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 11-302
  • Person: means an individual, a partnership, a candidate committee or noncandidate committee, a party, an association, a corporation, a business entity, an organization, or a labor union and its auxiliary committees. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 11-302
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
  • Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
(b) Any person who knowingly or intentionally falsifies any report required by this part with the intent to circumvent the law or deceive the commission or who violates § 11-352 or 11-353 shall be guilty of a class C felony. A person charged with a class C felony shall not be eligible for a deferred acceptance of guilty plea or nolo contendere plea under chapter853.
(c) Any person who intentionally provides false information concerning the name or address of the person paying for an advertisement that is subject to the requirements of § 11-391 shall be guilty of a class C felony.
(d) A person who is convicted under this section shall be disqualified from holding elective public office for a period of ten years from the date of conviction.
(e) For purposes of prosecution for violation of this part, the offices of the attorney general and the prosecuting attorney of the respective counties shall be deemed to have concurrent jurisdiction to be exercised as follows:

(1) Prosecution shall commence with a written request from the commission , upon the issuance of an order of the court, or upon the exercise of the law enforcement authority of the attorney general or prosecuting attorney; provided that prosecution may commence before any proceeding initiated by the commission or final determination;
(2) In the case of statewide offices, parties, or issues, the attorney general or the prosecuting attorney for the city and county of Honolulu shall prosecute any violation; and
(3) In the case of all other offices, parties, or issues, the attorney general or the prosecuting attorney for the respective county shall prosecute any violation.

If prosecution is commenced by a written request from the commission, the commission, in choosing the prosecuting agency, shall be guided by whether any conflict of interest exists between the agency and its appointive authority.

(f) The court shall give priority to the expeditious processing of prosecutions under this section.
(g) Prosecution for violations of this part shall not commence after five years have elapsed from the date of the violation or date of filing of the report covering the period in which the violation occurred, whichever is later.