Hawaii 2022 Regular Session

Hawaii House Bill HR171 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.R. NO. 171 THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022 ~~H.D. 1~~ STATE OF HAWAII HOUSE RESOLUTION COMMITTING TO PROVIDE GREATER PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS BY ADOPTING RULES TO ALLOW FOR VIRTUAL TESTIMONY, ~~RECORDED HEARINGS~~, AND INTERNET BROADCASTS OF HEARINGS BEYOND PERIODS OF CATASTROPHIC EVENTS.
	1	+	HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.R. NO. 171 THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022 STATE OF HAWAII HOUSE RESOLUTION COMMITTING TO PROVIDE GREATER PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS BY adoptING rules TO allow for virtual testimony, hearing recordings, and internet broadcastS of hearings beyond periods of catastrophic events.
2	2
3	3		HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.R. NO. 171
4		-	THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022 ~~H.D. 1~~
	4	+	THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
5	5		STATE OF HAWAII
6	6
7	7		HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
8	8
9	9		H.R. NO.
10	10
11	11		171
12	12
13	13		THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
14	14
15		-	~~H.D. 1~~
	15	+
16	16
17	17		STATE OF HAWAII
18	18
19	19
20	20
21	21
22	22
23	23
24	24
25	25
26	26
27	27
28	28
29	29		HOUSE RESOLUTION
30	30
31	31
32	32
33	33
34	34
35		-	COMMITTING TO PROVIDE GREATER PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS BY ADOPTING RULES TO ALLOW FOR VIRTUAL TESTIMONY, ~~RECORDED HEARINGS~~, AND INTERNET BROADCASTS OF HEARINGS BEYOND PERIODS OF CATASTROPHIC EVENTS.
	35	+	COMMITTING TO PROVIDE GREATER PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS BY adoptING rules TO allow for virtual testimony, hearing recordings, and internet broadcastS of hearings beyond periods of catastrophic events.
36	36
37	37
38	38
39	39
40	40
	41	+	WHEREAS, public access to the Legislature and the legislative process allows for citizens of Hawaii to actively engage with decisions impacting everyday life; and WHEREAS, the Legislature has committed to providing greater public access for citizens interested in the legislative process, beginning with Act 331, Session Laws of Hawaii 1989, to improve public access to legislative information; and WHEREAS, Hawaii's unique geography as an archipelago of islands poses significant challenges for residents from the counties of Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii to actively participate due to costly, time-consuming travel to attend hearings, and to provide in-person, oral testimony; and WHEREAS, the lack of remote hearing and testimony procedures impacts approximately four hundred thousand residents in the State; and WHEREAS, the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created great challenges to all individuals interested in participating in the legislative process; and WHEREAS, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, physical access to the Capitol building, hearings, and live testimony has been restricted due to social distancing guidelines; and WHEREAS, during the emergency stay-at-home orders and travel restrictions, legislators, staff, and members of the public could not attend public meetings in person; and WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the implementation of emergency measures suspending certain requirements of the State's sunshine law in order to allow boards and commissions to continue meeting and conducting necessary business while protecting participants' health and safety and expanding public access to meetings throughout the State; and WHEREAS, remote meetings can connect people in different physical locations through the use of interactive conference technology and thus enabled enhanced legislative and public participation; and WHEREAS, remote meetings could be safely held and allow more people from different islands or parts of islands to effectively participate, often during times when they would not otherwise be physically able or authorized to leave their work, homes, or schools to participate in an in-person meeting; and WHEREAS, during the COVID-19 pandemic, remote meetings helped to prevent the spread of disease, and even when there is not an ongoing pandemic, remote meetings can be a way to protect the health and safety of participants; and WHEREAS, remote meetings allowed the elderly and individuals who have disabilities or medical conditions that would place them at greater risks during travel or attendance at in-person public meetings to participate in the legislative process; and WHEREAS, in 2021, each house of the Legislature adopted remote hearings and testimony rules that allowed members of the public to continue participation through virtual conferencing platforms; and WHEREAS, the successful utilization of virtual attendance and remote testimony procedures during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic supports the continuation of pandemic-era rules to allow for greater public access to the legislative process; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, that each house of the Legislature is committed to providing greater public access to the legislative process for citizens by adopting rules allowing virtual testimony, recorded hearings, and hearings broadcasted via the Internet, consistent with those that were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, be continued as a regular practice. OFFERED BY: _____________________________ Report Title: Interactive Conference Technology; Remote Meetings; Accessibility; Sunshine Law
41	42
42		-
43		-	WHEREAS, public access to the Legislature and the legislative process allows for citizens of Hawaii to actively engage in decisions impacting their everyday life; and WHEREAS, the Legislature has committed to providing greater public access for citizens interested in the legislative process, beginning with Act 331, Session Laws of Hawaii 1989, to improve public access to legislative information; and WHEREAS, Hawaii's unique geography as an archipelago of islands poses significant challenges for residents from the counties of Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii to actively participate due to costly, time-consuming travel to attend hearings, and to provide in-person, oral testimony; and WHEREAS, the lack of remote hearing and testimony procedures impacts approximately four hundred thousand residents in the State; and WHEREAS, the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created great challenges to all individuals interested in participating in the legislative process; and WHEREAS, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, physical access to the Capitol building, hearings, and live testimony was restricted due to social distancing guidelines; and WHEREAS, during the emergency stay-at-home orders and travel restrictions, legislators, staff, and members of the public could not attend public meetings in person; and WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the implementation of emergency measures suspending certain requirements of the State's sunshine law in order to allow boards and commissions to continue meeting and conduct necessary business while protecting participants' health and safety and expanding public access to meetings throughout the State; and WHEREAS, remote meetings can connect people in different physical locations through the use of interactive conference technology and thus enable enhanced legislative and public participation; and WHEREAS, remote meetings can be safely held and allow more people from different islands or parts of islands to effectively participate, often during times when they would not otherwise be physically able or authorized to leave their work, homes, or schools to participate in an in-person meeting; and WHEREAS, during the COVID-19 pandemic, remote meetings helped to prevent the spread of disease, and even when there is no pandemic, remote meetings can be a way to protect the health and safety of participants; and WHEREAS, remote meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic also allowed the elderly and individuals who have disabilities or medical conditions that would place them at greater risks during travel or attendance at in-person public meetings to participate in the legislative process; and WHEREAS, in 2021, each house of the Legislature adopted rules on remote hearings and testimony that allowed members of the public to continue participation through virtual conferencing platforms; and WHEREAS, the successful utilization of virtual attendance and remote testimony procedures during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic supports the continuation of pandemic-era rules to allow for greater public access to the legislative process; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, that this body is committed to providing greater public access to the legislative process by adopting rules to allow virtual testimony, recorded hearings, and internet broadcasts of hearings beyond periods of catastrophic events. Report Title: Interactive Conference Technology; Remote Meetings; Accessibility; Sunshine Law
44		-
45		-	WHEREAS, public access to the Legislature and the legislative process allows for citizens of Hawaii to actively engage in decisions impacting their everyday life; and
	43	+	WHEREAS, public access to the Legislature and the legislative process allows for citizens of Hawaii to actively engage with decisions impacting everyday life; and
46	44
47	45
48	46
49	47		WHEREAS, the Legislature has committed to providing greater public access for citizens interested in the legislative process, beginning with Act 331, Session Laws of Hawaii 1989, to improve public access to legislative information; and
50	48
51	49
52	50
53	51		WHEREAS, Hawaii's unique geography as an archipelago of islands poses significant challenges for residents from the counties of Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii to actively participate due to costly, time-consuming travel to attend hearings, and to provide in-person, oral testimony; and
54	52
55	53
56	54
57	55		WHEREAS, the lack of remote hearing and testimony procedures impacts approximately four hundred thousand residents in the State; and
58	56
59	57
60	58
61	59		WHEREAS, the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created great challenges to all individuals interested in participating in the legislative process; and
62	60
63	61
64	62
65		-	WHEREAS, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, physical access to the Capitol building, hearings, and live testimony ~~was~~ restricted due to social distancing guidelines; and
	63	+	WHEREAS, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, physical access to the Capitol building, hearings, and live testimony has been restricted due to social distancing guidelines; and
66	64
67	65
68	66
69	67		WHEREAS, during the emergency stay-at-home orders and travel restrictions, legislators, staff, and members of the public could not attend public meetings in person; and
70	68
71	69
72	70
73		-	WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the implementation of emergency measures suspending certain requirements of the State's sunshine law in order to allow boards and commissions to continue meeting and ~~conduct~~ necessary business while protecting participants' health and safety and expanding public access to meetings throughout the State; and
	71	+	WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the implementation of emergency measures suspending certain requirements of the State's sunshine law in order to allow boards and commissions to continue meeting and conducting necessary business while protecting participants' health and safety and expanding public access to meetings throughout the State; and
74	72
75	73
76	74
77		-	WHEREAS, remote meetings can connect people in different physical locations through the use of interactive conference technology and thus ~~enable~~ enhanced legislative and public participation; and
	75	+	WHEREAS, remote meetings can connect people in different physical locations through the use of interactive conference technology and thus enabled enhanced legislative and public participation; and
78	76
79	77
80	78
81		-	WHEREAS, remote meetings ~~can~~ be safely held and allow more people from different islands or parts of islands to effectively participate, often during times when they would not otherwise be physically able or authorized to leave their work, homes, or schools to participate in an in-person meeting; and
	79	+	WHEREAS, remote meetings could be safely held and allow more people from different islands or parts of islands to effectively participate, often during times when they would not otherwise be physically able or authorized to leave their work, homes, or schools to participate in an in-person meeting; and
82	80
83	81
84	82
85		-	WHEREAS, during the COVID-19 pandemic, remote meetings helped to prevent the spread of disease, and even when there is no pandemic, remote meetings can be a way to protect the health and safety of participants; and
	83	+	WHEREAS, during the COVID-19 pandemic, remote meetings helped to prevent the spread of disease, and even when there is not an ongoing pandemic, remote meetings can be a way to protect the health and safety of participants; and
86	84
87	85
88	86
89		-	WHEREAS, remote meetings ~~during the COVID-19 pandemic also~~ allowed the elderly and individuals who have disabilities or medical conditions that would place them at greater risks during travel or attendance at in-person public meetings to participate in the legislative process; and
	87	+	WHEREAS, remote meetings allowed the elderly and individuals who have disabilities or medical conditions that would place them at greater risks during travel or attendance at in-person public meetings to participate in the legislative process; and
90	88
91	89
92	90
93		-	WHEREAS, in 2021, each house of the Legislature adopted ~~rules on~~ remote hearings and testimony that allowed members of the public to continue participation through virtual conferencing platforms; and
	91	+	WHEREAS, in 2021, each house of the Legislature adopted remote hearings and testimony rules that allowed members of the public to continue participation through virtual conferencing platforms; and
94	92
95	93
96	94
97	95		WHEREAS, the successful utilization of virtual attendance and remote testimony procedures during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic supports the continuation of pandemic-era rules to allow for greater public access to the legislative process; now, therefore,
98	96
99	97
100	98
101		-	BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, that this body is committed to providing greater public access to the legislative process by adopting rules to allow virtual testimony, recorded hearings, and internet broadcasts of hearings beyond periods of catastrophic events.
	99	+	BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, that each house of the Legislature is committed to providing greater public access to the legislative process for citizens by adopting rules allowing virtual testimony, recorded hearings, and hearings broadcasted via the Internet, consistent with those that were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, be continued as a regular practice.
	100	+
	101	+
	102	+
	103	+
	104	+
	105	+
	106	+
	107	+	OFFERED BY: _____________________________
	108	+
	109	+
	110	+
	111	+	OFFERED BY:
	112	+
	113	+	_____________________________
	114	+
	115	+
	116	+
	117	+
	118	+
	119	+
	120	+
	121	+
	122	+
	123	+
	124	+
	125	+
	126	+
	127	+
	128	+
	129	+
	130	+
	131	+
	132	+
	133	+
	134	+
	135	+
	136	+
	137	+
102	138
103	139		Report Title:
104	140
105	141		Interactive Conference Technology; Remote Meetings; Accessibility; Sunshine Law