HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

19

THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

Allowing members of THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO participate in floor sessions remotely under certain circumstances.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, the ongoing global respiratory disease pandemic named "coronavirus disease 2019", or COVID-19 continues to pose a serious health, safety, and economic risk to Hawaii; and

 

     WHEREAS, since the first reported case of COVID-19 in Hawaii on March 6, 2020, there have been over twenty-five thousand cases and over four hundred deaths in the State alone; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a COVID-19 vaccine may not be widely available for most Americans until mid-2021; and

 

     WHEREAS, in accordance with the Constitution of the State of Hawaii, the Legislature convened the Regular Session of 2021 at 10:00 a.m. on January 20, 2021; and

 

     WHEREAS, although the Legislature anticipates addressing several critical issues facing the State and approving the State's biennial budgets during the Regular Session of 2021, the House of Representatives is concerned about the health and safety of its 51 members, some of whom may be at an increased risk of severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19; and

 

     WHEREAS, during the Regular Session of 2020, the House of Representatives amended its rules to temporarily allow members to participate in committee meetings and floor sessions remotely; and

 

     WHEREAS, remote participation allowed members to safely perform their legislative duties without compromising their health or the health of others; and

     WHEREAS, the House of Representative's temporary remote participation rule was repealed on January 19, 2021; and

 

     WHEREAS, Article III, Section 12 of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii specifically grants to each chamber the power to determine the rules of its proceedings; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, that members of the House of Representatives may participate in floor sessions remotely by videoconference for:

 

     (1)  Medical reasons; or

 

     (2)  Any other reason upon the approval of the Speaker or the Speaker's designee; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that members participating remotely via videoconference shall be:

 

     (1)  Visible and audible to other members and the public during the floor sessions unless the House of Representatives is in recess; and

 

     (2)  Considered present and in attendance at the floor sessions, including for purposes of determining if quorum is present and voting.

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that floor sessions may be temporarily recessed when visual or audio communication cannot be maintained with a quorum of members participating remotely or with the location where the floor session is being held.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Remote Participation; Floor Sessions