STAND. COM. REP. NO. 58-04

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: H.B. No. 2480

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 2480 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC MEETINGS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to allow videoconferences held by public agencies to continue if the video communication is discontinued, provided that the audio communication is maintained.

The Hawaii Health Systems Corporation testified in support of this measure. The Office of Information provided comments.

Your Committee finds that public agencies periodically hold video conferences. Currently, if the video portion of the communication cannot be maintained, the meeting must be terminated, even if the audio communication is still functional.

Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Adding a condition that visual aids required for the meeting must be provided prior to the meeting or be transmitted to all participants within 15 minutes in order for the meeting to continue by audio communication only;

(2) Specifying that if the required visual aids are not available to all participants, then those items related to the visual aids must be deferred to another time; and

(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2480, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2480, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

 

____________________________

DENNIS A. ARAKAKI, Chair