Report Title:

Public Access

Description:

Establishes a pilot project for the use of videoconferencing for legislative hearings. Requires all new state buildings to have videoconferencing capability. Makes state videoconferencing facilities available to nonprofits and community groups for a fee. (SD1)

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

1490

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO PUBLIC ACCESS.

 

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

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that it is equitable and desirable to expand public access to legislative hearings to residents on the neighbor islands and in rural areas of Oahu. There is an increased difficulty for neighbor island residents in obtaining interisland flights to come to the capitol in person to testify and take part in the legislative process. One significant way to expand access for neighbor island residents is to increase use of videoconferencing technology in existing facilities on those islands and connect them to conference rooms at the state capitol.

The purpose of this Act is to establish a pilot project for videoconferencing access on the neighbor islands, and require all new state facilities to include videoconferencing capability.

SECTION 2. The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding a new chapter to title 9 to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"CHAPTER

VIDEOCONFERENCING

§   -1 Use of state videoconferencing facilities. All state videoconferencing facilities may be made available during off-business hours to nonprofit agencies and community groups, for a reasonable fee to be established by the department of accounting and general services pursuant to rules adopted under chapter 91. The fee shall take into account the cost of the staffing to open the facility after business hours, but shall not include any cost for amortization of the physical facilities.

§   -2 New state facilities. Every state facility the construction of which begins on or after July 1, 2005, shall include videoconference capabilities to provide electronic access alternatives to face-to-face meetings and to increase public participation in state legislative and executive branch hearings. A facility is considered to have videoconference capabilities when it can support the capacity to transmit the proceedings two ways and in real time."

SECTION 3. There is hereby established the videoconferencing access pilot project within the legislative reference bureau. The goal of the project shall be to provide, to the greatest extent possible, videoconferencing access between the neighbor islands and conference rooms within the state capitol. Provision for use of existing state videoconferencing facilities on the neighbor islands may be connected to selected conference rooms. For the purposes of this Act, "videoconference" shall mean two-way real-time connection between the locations.

SECTION 4. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $          , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2003-2004, for the videoconferencing access pilot project.

SECTION 5. The sums appropriated shall be expended by the legislative reference bureau for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 6. The legislative reference bureau shall report to the legislature, no later than June 30, 2004, on the status and impact of the videoconferencing pilot project and recommendations as to whether such a program should be made permanent.

SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect upon its approval; provided that the pilot project established in section 3 of this Act shall be repealed on July 1, 2004.