Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 7, Number 4, 1 April 1990 — ACCESS opens government to the people [ARTICLE]

ACCESS opens government to the people

The goal of Access: Legislative Information Service is to encourage citizens to participate in the legislative process through electronic means. Citizens may communicate with Access in two ways: by using a tcminal located in a public library, or by using a personal computer, modem, and communications software. To communicate through a personal computer with remote communications, the following items are needed on personalcomputers: a eommunieations port, a dial-up modem (either internal or external), VT 100 Emulahon software. Users should refer to the computer software manual for specific instructions on how to set up the computer and use individual software. Modems The State of Hawaii Area Wide Information Aecess Network Hawaian is equipped with a bank of autobaud modems capable of receiving calls at 300, 1200 or 2400 baud. Modems used to connect to Access should be compatible with the following industry standards at the respective eommunieation speeds: Bell 103 (300 baud), Bell 212A (1200 baud), CCITT v. 22 bis (2400 baud). Communications Software In addition, the modem/emulation software should be set with the following specifications: 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit, full duplex and no eeho. Examples of VT100 Emulation Software Packages: IBM PC or compatibles: are Crosstalk XVI, Procomm (Shareware), Procomm Plus and Smartcom III. Apple II Series: Mousetalk, ASCII Express, Point to Point. MacIntosh: Red Ryder, MicroPhone, MacTerminal. Program Function Keys (PF Keys) Program function keys (PF Keys) are used extensiveiy in Access. Most personal computer keyboards do not have PF keys, however, VT100 emulahon software assigns certain keys to perform the PF key functions. Refer to the eommunications software manual. Printers: The system software for Access supports the following six (6) printers: Dot matrix printers, LN103, LA100, Xerox, HP Laserjet, LQP2. If a printer is not listed, users should consult their printer manual to determine whieh of the above printer types will allow users to print. Phoning Access Legislative documents such as bills, resolutions, committee reports, and hearing notices are now accessible by telephone through Access: Legislative Information Service. These documents may be printed or saved to disk. To get the status of a bill or resolution people may eall Audio Access: Bill Status System. The key to accessing legislative information is now the phone number of the service wanted. Here are the keys: Access on O'ahu is 296-4636 (296 INFO), and on neighbor islands it is 1-800-628-4229, toll free. Audio Access: Bill Status Service may be reached with direct calls with a touch tone phone on O'ahu at 548-7777 and on the neighbor islands at 1-800-468-4644 and ask for Audio Access, 548-7777. The hours are 7:45 am to 4:30 pm on weekdays. Capitol Bulletin Board System The CBBS is part of a statewide electronic network operated by private individuals donating their time and the use of their computers and phone lines. The CBBS is available to users at no charge on the different islands by dialing the loeal numbers. On O'ahu: 536-2888 (State Capitol) or 942-2508 or 732-6909 or 499-1101. On Kaua'i: 337-9280 or 338-9999. On Hawai'i: 935-1748. Legislative information The Legislative lnformation Office is 548-4262. The Legislative clerk's office for the House of

Representatives is 548-7843 and for the Senate, it is 548-4675. Access Help Desk If people encounter a problem while working on Access, help is available on O'ahu by calling 5481,738 and on the neighbor islands by calling 1-800-468-4644, and asking for Access Help Desk, 5481738. "On Line" Access Access: Legislative lnformation Service is a menu driven database of legislative information. Connecting to Access 1. Turn on the personal computer and modem. 2. Run the communication software package and dial into Access: at 296-4636 on Oahu, or on the neighbor islands 1-800-628-4229. 3. When the modem "connects," press the Return Key two times quickly to allow the network to acknowledge the connection. Keep pressing the return key until a weleome message is seen. 4. Access will ask for a "Username:" Type in ACCESS in all capital letters, no spaces,and press the Return Key. 5. The next screen you11 see will say: Weleome to Access Legislative Information Service Hawaii State Legislature 1990 Fress RETURN to Continue ( ). The user is logged onto Access when the message appears. Refer to the next section whieh explains how to navigate within Access. Entering Access: Legislative Information Service The Main Menu is where the journey begins. Users will note that there are five menu items to choose from and a sixth item called "Exit S\jstem"

that logs the user out of Access. The first item allows you to access legislative documents: bills, resolutions, committee reports, and hearing notices. The next four items provide useful information about the legislative process: "Legislative Timetable," "Legislative Information and Directories," "How a Bill Becomes Law," and "How to Participate in the Legislative Process." Users ean read the section entitled "Access Main Menu Items"ior a short description of eaeh menu item. Moving in Access Access provides instructions at the bottom of the screen on whieh choices the user has and what the user ean do. For example, execute or eaneel a function, move to the previous or next page, or return to the main menu. Access Keywords Keywords are pre-selected words or phrases that describe topics whieh are useful in categorizing bills and resolutions. All bills and resolutions are assigned one or more keywords. By using a keyword, users may see a list of bills and/or resolutions related to that keyword. Users may also search for keywords that start with specified letter(s). For example, "E*" will display a list of keywords starting with the letter E. Typing "EDUC*" will display a list of keywords starting with EDUC*. Complete copies of the Access manual (including maps that show the sequence in whieh menus and text appear on the screen) may be obtained by contacting: Access Help Desk Office of Sergeant-at-Arms, House of Representatives, State Capitol Room 036, Honolulu, Hawai'i, 96813 or FAX to 548-7784.

Access Main Menu Items 1 Legislative Documents and Keyword Search: Review, print, and save to disk legislative bills, resolutions, committee reports and hearing notices and find bills and resolutions related to topic keywords. 2 Legislative Timetable: Describes the deadlines and milestones that determine the process by whieh the Legislature conducts its business, including: bill and resolution introduction cutoffs, date bill must move from first-referral to second referral committees, deadlines for bill crossover to other house, and deadline to disagree with other house's amendments. 3 Legislative Information and Directories: Profiles eaeh of the 76 legislators by providing information in categories such as: Capitol office and phone numbers, district and party affiliation, leadership positions and

committee assignments, and educational, career, political, and community information; a list of House and Senate Committees and the members of eaeh committee, logistieal information about the Capitol, such as, where to find public parking in the Capitol area, where to find the public telephones at the Capitol, copy machines available to the public, testimony drop-off box, Capitol tours and the snack shop. 4 How a Bill Becomes Law: Describes the step-by-step !egislative process. 5 How to Participate in the Legislative Process: Provides information and ideas about getting involved, being informed, tracking legislative measures, communicating your position, organizing your support, and publicizing your issue. 99 Exit System: Logs you out of Access.