THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2243
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING to legislative testimony.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the public plays an important role in the legislative process through the testimony they provide. However, the opportunity to provide testimony in person at committee hearings may not be available to all members of the public, especially those who live outside of the urban core of the island of Oahu and on neighbor islands, or those who experience barriers to access due to disabilities.

The legislature further finds that as technology evolves, other state governments have implemented remote committee hearings to bridge the distance between testifiers and legislative committees. For example, in 1978 Alaska established a teleconference network and began holding remote hearings for residents. The legislature notes that although the senate began piloting a videoconferencing project in 2014, this technology is limited to use by only a few senate committees. Telephones, however, are available in almost all conference rooms in the house and senate and would provide a meaningful intermediate step to increase the public's ability to testify with respect to legislation.

The purpose of this Act is to increase the available methods for the public to provide testimony to the legislature by requiring committees to accept testimony remotely, by telephone, during the committee hearing process.

SECTION 2. The legislature shall allow individuals to provide testimony via telephone during the committee hearing process with respect to measures scheduled for public hearing.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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Report Title:

Deaf and Blind Task Force; Remote Public Testimony; House and Senate Hearings

Description:

Requires the house and senate to permit remote testimony, via telephone, at public hearings.

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