Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 629 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to make an appropriation to permit legislative proceedings to be broadcast in streaming media format on the Internet.

Your Committee finds that citizen involvement and input into the legislative process is crucial to legislative decision making. The Legislature has demonstrated its commitment to the principle of public access to the legislative process by establishing programs like the public access room, the legislative broadcast project, and the legislative website.

Your Committee further finds that while televised coverage of legislative proceedings is an important component of public access, some proceedings are available only via cable television and only at certain times. By contrast, streaming media, or webcasting, permits those with access to a computer at home or in a public place such as a library, school, or community center to follow the proceedings when they could not otherwise do so. Webcasting of legislative proceedings will also permit those who wish to testify but are unable to spend extended periods at the State Capitol to follow the proceedings and go to the capitol only when it is time to testify.

Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to permit further consideration of the issues raised and by making technical nonsubstantive changes for the purposes of clarity and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 629, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 629, S.D. 1.