(a) The commission shall be under no obligation to provide moneys to candidates if, in the partial public funding program or comprehensive public funding for elections to the county of Hawaii council, moneys in the Hawaii election campaign fund are near depletion.
Election: means any election for office or for determining a question or issue provided by law or ordinance. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 11-302
Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
(b) For the purpose of the partial funding program, if the Hawaii election campaign fund is close to depletion as determined by the commission, the commission shall determine the amounts available to eligible candidates based on their order of eligibility in qualifying for partial public funds, as determined by the date of filing of an application for public funds with the commission pursuant to § 11-428; provided that the application has been accepted by the commission.(c) For the purpose of the comprehensive public funding for elections to the county councils, if the Hawaii [election] campaign fund is close to depletion, the commission shall determine whether the program shall be operative in accordance with this part.
