A short rant today because this doesn't take long to explain.
The bulk of the Legislative session consists of committee hearings to discuss the bills at play. These are all on YouTube, by the way, and that's a great way to tune in and observe the process, either live or at your convenience.
For example, here's one discussing HB1984, concerning self-certification by architects and contractors in the solar biz.
The problem is, the YouTube livestream is also how quite a lot of the committee members are observing the hearing.
Remotely. From their office.
People take time out of their lives to come to the Capitol, make their voices heard, and what they're greeted with in quite a lot of these committee meetings, I hear, is the committee chair, the vice chair, a couple of clerks and a camera. The rest of the committee is watching from their offices.
When these people throw a party at home, do they stay in the bedrooms and never greet their guests?
Well, it's called a hearing not an eavesdropping. If someone drove in from Waimānalo or Wai‘anae or even just Waikīkī, the least committee members could do is get in an elevator and show up in person.
A. Kam Napier is editor in chief of Aloha State Daily. His opinions in Pipikaula Corner are his own and not reflective of the ASD team.
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A. Kam Napier can be reached at kam@alohastatedaily.com.
