For the expenses of the legislature, the auditor, the legislative reference bureau, the ombudsman, and the ethics commission

House Committee on Finance (FIN) - chair: Sylvia Luke, vice chair: Scott Y. Nishimoto, Aaron Ling Johanson

Thursday, January 30, 2014, 1:150 p.m., Room 414

Testifier: Janet F. Mason, Co-Chair, Legislative Committee

Click here to view HB2650

Chair Luke, Vice-Chairs Nishimoto and Johanson, and Committee Members: The League of Women Voters of Hawaii supports HB 2650 that appropriates fund for expenses of the Legislature, Auditor, Legislative Reference Bureau, Ombudsman and Ethics Commission. In particular, we are pleased to see the inclusion of an $87,500 appropriation for the legislative broadcast program for the 2014-2015 year. This program helps protect the citizen’s right to know about legislative activities and facilitates citizen participation in legislative decision-making. We also strongly support the $909,531 appropriation for 2014-2015 for the Ethics Commission, which continues to provide reasonable and thoughtful ethics oversight for State employees and officials. We urge you to pass this bill. Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony.