STAND. COM. REP. NO.  182

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2013

 

RE:   H.B. No. 1209

 

 

 

 

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Legislative Management, to which was referred H.B. No. 1209 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE LEGISLATIVE BROADCAST PROGRAM,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to require the Legislative Broadcast Program to:

 

     (1)  Make an audio or audiovisual recording of all public hearings and informational briefings held at the State Capitol; and

 

     (2)  Maintain an archive of the recordings to be made available to the public.

 

     This measure also appropriates $30,000 for each year of fiscal biennium 2013-2015 for the purchase of necessary recording equipment and archival materials, and the hiring of necessary staff.

 

     The Americans for Democratic Action Hawaii, the League of Women Voters of Hawaii, and a few individuals supported this measure.  The Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) and Common Cause Hawaii provided comments on this measure.

 


     Your Committee notes that LRB, the entity tasked with implementing the bill and expending the funds appropriated thereby, has expressed concerns that it does not have statutory authority over the Legislative Broadcast Program. 

 

     Your Committee further notes that LRB surmised that the expansion of the current Legislative Broadcast Program as proposed by this measure would cost an estimated $2,242,000, excluding hardware costs such as recording equipment and cameras for the House and Senate chambers, the auditorium, and every single conference room in the State Capitol that holds a public hearing.  The additional hardware costs would need to be incurred by the contractor, Olelo, or the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.  The LRB further surmised that providing closed captioning would cost an additional $784,700, which would bring the total cost of implementing this measure to approximately $3,026,700, excluding hardware costs.

 

     Your Committee further notes that it is unclear as to whether closed captioning is legally required and requests that your Committee on Finance considers these concerns.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Legislative Management that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1209 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

 

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Legislative Management,

 

 

 

 

____________________________

SCOTT Y. NISHIMOTO, Chair