REPORT TITLE:
Public Access Room


DESCRIPTION:
Makes appropriation to hire a staff person during the interim for
the legislature's public access room.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           1575
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC ACCESS.
 


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 5,800 calls for legislative and other information, serviced about
 
15 4,000 people who visited the public access room or made requests
 
16 for service in person, and conducted public access workshops for
 
17 over two hundred and fifty residents.  This rise in demand for
 
18 services from the public access room cannot be met with only one
 
19 full-time staff member.  An additional interim staff person is
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           1575
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 needed to serve the needs of the citizens for legislative access
 
 2 and related services.  The legislature finds that one person is
 
 3 insufficient to provide for the increased demand for the services
 
 4 of the public access room and, at the same, maintain its high
 
 5 quality.
 
 6      The purpose of this Act is to make an appropriation to
 
 7 establish an additional full-time staff position for the public
 
 8 access room.
 
 9      SECTION 2.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
10 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $13,200, or so much
 
11 thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 1999-2000, to hire a
 
12 second full-time staff person for the public access room.
 
13      SECTION 3.  The sum appropriated by this Act shall be
 
14 expended by the office of the legislative reference bureau for
 
15 the purposes of this Act.
 
16      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 1999.
 
17 
 
18                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________