Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 3, 1 March 1992 — Citizens can participate in the process [ARTICLE]

Citizens can participate in the process

Citizen participation fact sheet When does the Legislature convene? And how long do the sessions last? According to Article III. Section 10 of the Hawaii State Constitution, "The legislature shall convene annually in regular session at 10 a.m. on the third Wednesday in January." Regular sessions are limited to 60 working days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, and designated recess days). When does the full House of Representatives meet? Plenary sessions of the House take plaee at 11:30 a.m. daily during the regular session unless otherwise ordered by the speaker.

Plenary sessions will be held at the House Chambers, on the 7th floor of the Leiopapa A Kamehameha Building at 235 S. Beretania St. more commonly referred to as the State Office Tower (SOT). When do the standing committees of the House meet? The morning bracket standing committees usuai!y begin their meetings at 8:30 a.m. on designated meeting days. The afternoon bracket standing committees usually meet at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on designated meeting days. Where do I get copies of bills and resolutions? Is there a charge for copies?

Free copies of House bills and resolutions may be obtained by contacting: (January through Apill) House Printshop at 5866590/6591 CapitoI Center, Room 401 Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.- 6 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. - noon (May through December) House CIerk s Office at 5866400 SOT, Room 810 continued on page 14

Citizens participate

Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Free copies of Senate bills and resolutions ean be obtained by contacting: (January through April) Senate Printshop at 5866755 SOT. Room 201 Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. - noon (May through December) Senate Clerk's Office at 586-6720 SOT. Room 604 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Beginning this year orders for House bills, resolutions, and committee reports placed 24 hours in advance with the House Printshop may be picked up curbside in the loading zone adjacent to the lobby of the Capitol Center at 1177 Alakea St. Hours for this service are Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. and from 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. Requests for House documents will be filled in the order that they are received. Documents must be picked up on the day and time specified.

In addition to the House document curbside piekup service, the House will fax House documents to individuals, organizations, and government agencies. Fax requests will be transmitted upon written request and forwarded to the clerk's office. Fax request forms may be obtained by calling the House Printshop (586-6590/6591). Hours for this service are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Up to five documents will be faxed - eaeh document cannot exceed 24 pages in length. Faxing to out-of-state numbers will not be allowed as transmissions will utilize designated state toll-free numbers. Before transmission, a confirming eall will be placed to the requestor. Individuals with computer capabilities will be able to view the text of bills introduced, eommittee reports filed, and hearing notices posted through the "ACCESS" on-line computer system seven days a week, 24 hours a day. In addition, legislative tutorials and directories are also featured. Documents viewed may also be printed or saved on a disk for future reference. To use "ACCESS" all that is needed is a personal computer, modem, communications software, and a phone line. The phone numbers for "ACCESS" are as follows: ACCESS: Legislative Information Service, O'ahu 296-4636 (296-INF0), Neighbor Islands

1-800-628-4229. ACCESS help desk, O'ahu 586-1919, Neighbor Islands 1-800-252-1132. How ean I get on a committee's mailing list? A phone eall or a letter to a committee chair's office is sufficient. These calls and/or letters should be received by the committee chair's office as early as possible to ensure notification of pre-session as well as session events. How do I get testimony for a public hearing to a committee chair's office? Testimony may be delivered to a committee chair's office at least 24 hours in advance of the scheduled public hearing. In addition, the House will provide and operate a curbside drop-off area for the receipt of testimony for legislative committees of the House at the loading zone adjacent to the lobby of the Capitol Center at 1177 Alakea St. This service will be offered Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. and from 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. Testimony should be dropped off at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled public hearing. If you are planning to fax your testimony, transmit testimony to the House Sergeant-at-Arms office 586-6501 (O'ahu or 1-800-535-3859 (Neighbor Islands). There is a five-page limit for fax transmissions received.