Somehow it is not surprising that the Legislature needs a special committee to figure out where someone lives.

Of course we are way past the era of phone books with names and addresses and everyone is living a virtual life somewhere on the cloud, but really, how hard can it be to figure out where Calvin Say lives?

The state House last week formed a committee that will act on a petition by a half-dozen Palolo residents who claim that while Say says he lives in the 20th House District of Palolo and St. Louis Heights, he actually resides three valleys over in the 25th District of Pauoa.

Where people live is a constant problem for Hawaii. It followed former legislator and Maui Councilman Sol Kahoohalahala for four years as opponents argued that he lived in Lahaina, not Lanai; and now Sen. Brickwood Galuteria has critics questioning tax credits he claimed for a home outside of his Senate district.

But, Say’s problems are becoming their own reality show.

It is not a new problem for Say, who is one of the longest-serving members of the state House.

In fact, this is sort of a "nothing changes" problem. Say had been speaker of the House for 14 years after he ousted Maui Rep. Joe Souki as speaker, who then overthrew Say to take back his old job.

And if Say recognizes the ducks pecking at his residency claims now, it is because they have been legally challenging him since at least 2006.

On one level, the facts are that Say owns a house in Palolo, gets his mail there and has neighbors who say they see him there. But his wife and kids moved to her parent’s home in Pauoa to help with elderly parents and Say’s opponents argue that is really where he lives.

On another level, the argument should be that you want to be represented by legislators who know your district and its needs and problems.

By that measure, Say knows the district. While other politicians send their representatives to Neighborhood Board meetings, Say almost always goes to all the meetings in his district. If you have been to a Neighborhood Board meeting, you would know this is not how you want to spend an evening.

Say’s issue has been banging around the courts for most of this time, until the courts last year said the "House has not yet exercised its power, nor conducted any investigation" that would settle the matter.

Now in a precedent-setting move, the House has decided it will let lawyers for Say and his opponents argue ina public meeting tentatively scheduled for next week. This will serve as the House exercising its power.

The committee will write a report. Souki says the report could go from declaring Say is good to stay, or he is living at the wrong place and should not hold office.

"The committee will focus on the evidence submitted by the attorneys, and then it is up for us to decide and write a report," said Rep. Scott Saiki, the House Democratic leader.

The state Constitution gives the Legislature the power to consider if a member is guilty of "misconduct, disorderly behavior or neglect of duty … and punish any member with censure or, upon a two-thirds vote," suspend or expel the member.

All this is a really big deal because where Say lives has been an issue in at least his last three campaigns, andthe voters said wherever he lives, they want him as their representative.

Of course, the other side is that purposefully misleading or lying to voters has serious consequences.

The resulting decision, either for or against Say, will go a long way toward spelling out political rules for all candidates in Hawaii.

Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.