THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

89

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002

  

STATE OF HAWAII

  
   

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 

URGING THE USE OF VIDEOCONFERENCING TECHNOLOGY TO ENABLE NEIGHBOR ISLAND RESIDENTS TO TESTIFY LIVE AT PUBLIC HEARINGS.

 

WHEREAS, a study of modern-day legislative bodies identified linkage and legitimation as two key functions of legislatures, in addition to decisionmaking; and

WHEREAS, linkage between citizens and their government is strengthened when the public has ample opportunity to have their concerns heard by the legislature; and

WHEREAS, citizens who regard their government as legitimate are more likely to obey laws, support their government, and accommodate diverse points of view, and citizen participation in the legislative process is vital to creating this sense of legitimacy; and

WHEREAS, the citizens of the State of Hawaii include persons residing on the neighbor islands; and

WHEREAS, the residents of Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui counties comprise between one fourth and one third of the State's population; and

WHEREAS, the ability of neighbor island residents to have their concerns heard by legislators in the context of public hearings is constrained by the geographical distances between the State Capitol building on Oahu and the neighbor islands, and the expense of traveling to Oahu to testify in person; and

WHEREAS, therefore, most neighbor island residents who wish to testify in public hearings are limited to submitting written testimony and do not have the opportunity to engage in direct discussion with legislators at hearings; and

WHEREAS, modern information technology enables legislative committees to receive public testimony from remote locations by means of audio- and videoconferencing; and

WHEREAS, state legislatures in geographically large western states such as Nevada, Wyoming, and Alaska routinely provide citizens who live great distances from the capital to testify before committees through the use of satellite-based videoconferencing; and

WHEREAS, Internet-based videoconferencing provides another option for allowing citizens to participate in the legislative process; and

WHEREAS, a 1999 survey conducted by the Kentucky General Assembly's Joint Subcommittee on Teleconferencing Interim Joint Committee on State Government reported that twelve states used videoconferencing to allow persons to testify at committee meetings from remote locations; and

WHEREAS, utilizing videoconferencing technology in the Legislature's public hearings would enable neighbor island residents to participate more directly in the legislative process; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-First Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2002, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Legislature is urged to utilize videoconferencing technology to allow residents on the neighbor islands to testify live at legislative public hearings; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

 
 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Legislative Hearings; Testimony by Videoconference