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Outstanding fines didn’t prevent state Rep. Karen Awana from scoring a top leadership position in the House this session.

The four-term lawmaker owes the Campaign Spending Commission $6,800 for failing to keep records and filing false reports dating back to 2008.

Yet she was made majority floor leader Wednesday, the Legislature’s opening day.

Awana, who represents the on Oahu’s west side, set up a payment plan with the commission last year. But she didn’t make her first payment, $2,000 due Dec. 31, said Gary Kam, the commission’s general counsel.

She has $15,000 in her , according to her last disclosure report. Kam said she is allowed to use this money to pay campaign fines.

“I don’t understand what’s going on,” Kam said. “Maybe it’s preferable to her to just get fined. But she hasn’t paid the fine.”

Kam said the next step will be filing an application in Circuit Court to enforce the commission’s order.

Awana did not return calls from Civil Beat seeking comment for this story.

Awana didn’t contest the commission’s September decision to fine her for a slew of violations. She had a 20-day window to do so, Kam said.

The biggest fine was $1,800 for not depositing 72 contribution checks within seven days of receipt. She also got tagged eight times at $500 a pop for filing false reports.

Another $1,000 fine was added to the tally after the commission had to subpoena her bank records because she stopped communicating with the office. The records revealed 32 checks that she wrote to herself or her bank without explaining the campaign purpose.

Awana had racked up $7,200 in fines at one point, but she paid $400 for not reporting campaign T-shirts and mailings. She could have just fixed the reports within the 14-day window the commission gave her and the matter would have gone away.

Awana will serve as majority floor leader under new House Speaker Joe Souki, who formed a coalition with Republicans to end Rep. Calvin Say’s 14-year reign as speaker.

Souki, who did not return a call seeking comment for this story, tapped Rep. Scott Saiki to serve as majority leader, essentially his No. 2 in command.

Saiki said the membership felt comfortable with Souki’s choices for .

When asked if he thought it was OK for Awana to fill one of those slots while having outstanding campaign fines, he said, “We would want the leadership members to comply with state laws.”

Saiki added that he would talk to her about the matter.