STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2540

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2121

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Government Operations, to which was referred S.B. No. 2121 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE EARLY LEARNING COUNCIL,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to allow the Early Learning Council to conduct meetings by teleconference and to establish quorum and public notice and participation requirements for the teleconference meetings.

     Your Committee finds that the State's Sunshine Law allows boards to hold long-distance meetings with appropriate protections for the public.  Section 92-3.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, which provides for videoconference meetings, was amended in 2006 to allow a videoconference meeting to continue if the video connection goes down but the audio connection remains.  At that time the Legislature declined, however, to allow boards to meet purely by teleconference.  Your Committee understands the concerns regarding allowing one entity to meet by teleconference, but not all boards and commissions to do so.  Your Committee believes this is an issue that will be further discussed as this measure moves through the legislative process.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Government Operations that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2121 and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Government Operations,

____________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair