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Hear ye! Hear ye! On Tuesday, April 8th, we’ll see plenty of speeches on the floor of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Numerous bills will be debated prior to undergoing their Third Reading votes. To survive, a bill must pass its Third Reading vote by the Second Crossover deadline (April 10th). While you can follow the action by coming down to... Read More Third Reading / Second Crossover...
The State Office of Elections is recruiting Precinct Officials, Delivery & Collection Team Officials, and Election Information Services operators to work the Primary Election (Saturday, August 9, 2014) and/or the General Election (Tuesday, November 4, 2014). In a single day, you can provide a vital service to your community while earning money and learning about elections. Spread the word to friends and family... Read More Work on Election Days! Participate, Learn and Earn...
The budget worksheets are posted. Go to the "Legislative Information" page -- you'll find the link on the upper right-hand side of the Legislature's website, capitol.hawaii.gov -- and select "Budget Worksheets." The HB1700 HD1 worksheets highlight the differences between the initial version of the Executive Budget (HB1700) and the amended version (HB1700 HD1) which just crossed over to the Senate from the... Read More The Budget Worksheets are Posted...
Mid-way through Session is a good time to take another look at the landscape of bills being considered. Some of the bills may have changed considerably from their initial drafts. What started out as a bill that didn't cause a blip on your radar may now be of great interest to you. It's easy to find the list of surviving... Read More Time to Take a Fresh Look...
That was fast! We're already coming up on the deadline for bills to be out of their originating chamber's committees. February 28 is the First Decking deadline. By this date, a bill needs to: pass through all of the committees it was referred to in its chamber of origin; and be submitted to the House or Senate clerk so that... Read More Quickly Approaching First Decking Deadline...
The incredibly handy, pocket-sized “Hawaii Directory of Public Officials 2014″ (which lists contact information for Hawaii's legislators) is here. And once again its publisher, the Hawaii Institute of Public Affairs (HIPA), has generously provided the Public Access Room with an ample supply for distribution to our patrons. Once again, they’ve provided a mobile app as well. Come on by (Room 401, State Capitol) and... Read More The handy directories have arrived...
The 2014 Legislative Session is underway, and new bills are being introduced and referred to committees. Here we go! Time to start asking committee chairs to schedule bills for hearings and to offer testimony on measures already scheduled to be heard. But first off: where are the bills that have been introduced? The "Reports and Lists" button can be found... Read More New Bills being Introduced — Where to Find Them...
The deadline to apply for Grant-in-Aid funds is Friday, January 31st. The application and additional information is posted on the Legislature's website but you have to know where to look. In the upper right of your screen, click on the "Legislative Information" bar (it's the fourth one down). Under "2014," just click on "Grant-in-Aid" and you'll find instructions, FAQs and... Read More Grant-in-Aid Application Form...
If you look at the "Current Hearings" section on the Legislature's homepage, you may find an informational briefing that has something to do with the budget. The Senate Ways and Means Committee and the House Finance Committee started out on 12/18/13 with a joint informational briefing that included presentations regarding the Governor's financial plan and the Council on Revenues' revenue... Read More It’s beginning to look a lot like Session…...
Update: The 2014 Session Calendar is here: https://lrbhawaii.org/par/fyi/2014cal.pdf . It's that time of year! Folks are starting to call the Public Access Room looking for the 2014 Legislative Calendar. We'd provide it if we could, but it hasn't been issued yet. The Calendar will be jointly issued by the Senate President and House Speaker sometime before Session starts on January 15, 2014. On... Read More Where’s the 2014 Calendar?...