Report Title:

Fair Access to State Government

Description:

Requires the governor and legislature to ensure fair public access to information, services, and proceedings of the executive and legislative branches. Authorizes the governor to appoint a fair access commission. Charges the commission and the joint legislative access committee with reviewing and evaluating government access by neighbor island and rural Oahu residents, and making recommendations for its improvement.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1026

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to fair access for state government.

 

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

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the centralized system of state government provides for efficient coordination of its functions and services, especially for a population located on separate islands. However, the accessibility and delivery of government information, services, and proceedings to residents living on the neighbor islands has historically been an ongoing challenge, in part, because of the central organization of state government.

The legislature further finds that the residents of Hawaii, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kauai, Niihau, and rural Oahu are disadvantaged because of their distant location away from the seat of government in Honolulu and the state capitol. The advancement of various technologies has, however, significantly reduced physical distance as a limitation on the accessibility of neighbor island residents to government information, personnel, and proceedings.

The legislature believes it is the responsibility of government, through its executive and legislature, to ensure that the residents of all islands have fair access to government information, services, and proceedings. To this end, the governor may find a statewide fair access commission useful, as it was when such a commission was last convened in 1989. The joint legislative access committee, statutorily created in 1996, already has related duties and is the most appropriate body to recommend ways to ensure fair access to legislative proceedings and information.

The purpose of this Act is to statutorily establish the State's responsibility to provide fair access to its information, services, and proceedings, including the responsibilities of the office of the governor and the legislature. This Act also authorizes the governor to establish a fair access commission, and mandates both the commission and the joint legislative access committee to review, evaluate, and make recommendations for improving the level of access by neighbor island and rural Oahu residents to proceedings, information, and services of government and the legislature.

SECTION 2. Chapter 27, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§27-   Fair access to state government. (a) The office of the governor shall be responsible to ensure that residents throughout the State have fair access to government information, services, and proceedings. The governor, from time to time, may appoint a statewide fair access commission composed of representatives of all the islands to review, evaluate, and make recommendations for improving the level of access to government by residents on the neighbor islands and rural Oahu.

(b) The legislature shall be responsible for ensuring fair access to information, services, and proceedings of the legislative branch through programs that enable residents statewide to have access to audio and video broadcasts of legislative proceedings, legislative documents, and public education and other services through technologies that allow access by residents on all islands in the State."

SECTION 3. Section 21D-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§21D-6 Joint legislative access committee.[]] There is established the joint legislative access committee which shall be composed of members of the legislature. The president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives shall each appoint a co-chair and two members or more to the committee, one of whom shall be a member of the minority party.

The committee shall:

(1) Oversee the staff and operations of the legislative broadcast project, and recommend policies for the project which shall be adopted by concurrent resolution; [and]

(2) Review the operations of the public access room, legislative Internet project, and other public access projects of the legislature and recommend policies for these projects to the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives[.]; and

(3) Review, evaluate, and make recommendations to the presiding officers for improving the level of access to the proceedings, information, and services of the legislature by residents on the neighbor islands and in rural Oahu."

SECTION 4. Section 27-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§27-1 Functions of statewide concern. The purpose of the chapter is to fix responsibility for certain functions, which are of statewide concern, in the state government. These functions which are declared to be state functions are as follows:

(1) Planning, construction, improvement and maintenance of public school facilities and grounds and the transportation of school children; provided that nothing in this paragraph shall preclude the several counties from expending their own funds to supplement state funds;

(2) Burial of indigents;

(3) Planning, construction, improvement, maintenance, and operation of public hospitals and other public health and medical facilities;

(4) Rendering of medical treatment and hospitalization services to state and county pensioners;

(5) Administration and operation of district courts; and

(6) Providing information [and], services, and access to government proceedings to the public through joint cooperation with the several counties[.] and a program to ensure fair access for residents living on the neighbor islands and in rural Oahu."

SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2003.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________