I began going to the state Legislature in 1984 on behalf of the ACLU to support and oppose bills relating to civil rights. In those days everything was hard copy. To follow what was happening in the Legislature, one needed to go to the Legislature and go through stacks of paper every day to identify and track bills of interest. This was prohibitive to the average citizen.
Today, one need only go the Legislature’s website to quickly and easily access information on any measure pending in the Legislature. One can do a word search or enter the number of the bill or resolution of interest. The contents of the measure, committee referrals, hearing notices, testimony, amendments and progress through the Legislature is accessible with a click of the finger. One can even sign up to be immediately notified when a measure is scheduled for a hearing.
The usefulness and functionality of the Legislature’s website has earned national recognition and awards, including the Online Democracy Award from the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct established by the state House of Representatives in 2022 recognized and applauded the Legislature’s increased transparency and accessibility to the public, and made recommended rule changes to further enhance public participation in the legislative process. The commission recommended that:
>> Testimony submitted to a committee should be immediately posted on line;
>> The practice begun during the COVID pandemic of livestreaming committee and floor sessions and recording the sessions for posting on its website should continue;
>> Committee chairs should be required to articulate the reasons for deferring measures indefinitely and for not scheduling measures for public hearings, with a majority of committee members having the right to overrule the chair;
>> Proposed substantive amendments to measures should be shared with the public in a timely manner; and
>> The rules of each chamber should be revised to bring greater clarity and transparency to the legislative process regarding legislator conflicts of interest, disclosures, voting and recusal from voting.
The House and Senate and their committees moved forward on these commission recommendations in varying degrees.
I am hopeful this movement will continue and be codified in each chamber’s rules to bring uniformity in the operations of the two houses and their committees. This would certainly increase transparency and accessibility and bring uniformity to the legislative process, giving the public a better understanding of what to expect in its interaction with the Legislature.
Since the Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct made it recommendations to the Legislature on Dec. 1, 2022, there has been remarkable progress in creating greater transparency and accountability in government (“Progress for Hawaii: Better government,” Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, May 21, 2023). The Legislature has not only given openness and transparency a boost; it has strengthened investigation and prosecution of fraud, created greater ethical awareness and oversight in government, and reduced the power of money in politics.
But there is still much to do.
I am encouraged not only by the past actions of the Legislature but also public statements of incoming legislators, incumbents and freshmen alike, to continue pushing for greater transparency, accountability, access and ethics in Hawaii’s elections and government operations. I wish our new Legislature every success in this important endeavor.
Dan Foley is former chair of the Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct and a retired Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals judge.
