REPORT TITLE:
Government


DESCRIPTION:
Makes an appropriation for an additional full-time staff position
for the public access room.  (SB654 HD2)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        654
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           S.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                H.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO LEGISLATIVE AGENCIES.



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

 1      SECTION 1.  The Hawaii state legislature has demonstrated
 
 2 its commitment to the principle of public access to the
 
 3 legislative process by creating programs such as the public
 
 4 access room, legislative broadcast project, and the legislative
 
 5 website.  Hawaii is considered to be one of the country's models
 
 6 in the development of public access programs, as evidenced by
 
 7 complimentary commentaries in the national and local media.
 
 8      To maintain its commitment to public access, the legislature
 
 9 believes that the current level of service to the public from the
 
10 legislative reference bureau's public access room should be
 
11 maintained.  Public requests for services of the public access
 
12 room have increased dramatically since its beginning in 1990.  In
 
13 fiscal year 1997-1998 alone, the public access room received over
 
14 five thousand eight hundred calls for legislative and other
 
15 information, serviced about four thousand people who visited the
 
16 public access room or made requests for service in person, and
 
17 conducted public access workshops for over two hundred and fifty
 
18 residents.  This rise in demand for services from the public
 
19 access room cannot be met with only one full-time staff member.
 
20 An additional interim staff person is needed to serve the needs
 

 
Page 2                                                     654
                                     S.B. NO.           S.D. 1
                                                        H.D. 2
                                                        

 
 1 of the citizens for legislative access and related services.  The
 
 2 legislature finds that one person is insufficient to provide for
 
 3 the increased demand for the services of the public access room
 
 4 and, at the same, maintain its high quality.
 
 5      The purpose of this Act is to make an appropriation to
 
 6 establish an additional full-time staff position for the public
 
 7 access room.
 
 8      SECTION 2.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
 9 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $   or so much thereof
 
10 as may be necessary for fiscal year 1999-2000 to hire a second
 
11 full-time staff person for the public access room.
 
12      SECTION 3.  The sum appropriated shall be expended by the
 
13 legislative reference bureau for the purposes of this Act.
 
14      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 1999.