Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Legislative Management, to which was referred S.B. No. 621, S.D. 2, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to appropriate funds to allow legislative hearings to be made available on the Internet in a streaming media format.

The League of Women Voters of Hawaii, Executive Assistant to the Governor and Special Advisor for Technology Development, and three concerned individuals testified in support of this measure.

Your Committee finds that the unique feature of the streaming media format is that it allows legislative hearings to be accessed and viewed at any time by the viewer over the Internet.

S.B. No. 2254, S.D. 1, a bill very similar to this one, was passed out of the Senate this legislative session and referred to your Committees on Legislative Management and Finance. S.B. No. 2254 originally appropriated $40,000 to provide audio and video streaming media format of the legislative proceedings over the Internet. However, the Senate Ways and Means Committee amended S.B. No. 2254 by removing the appropriation amount.

Nevertheless, your Committee would prefer to move out S.B. 621, S.D.2, since it was previously heard and not opposed during the public hearing held last year. Your Committee believes that $40,000 is a workable amount to fund this project and respectfully urges your Committee on Finance to consider this funding amount.

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 S.B. No. 621, S.D. 2, and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Finance.