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April 2010

July 2010

Can Hawaii Attain Food Security?
LWV and KITV Present Election Debate (Pearl Johnson)
Big Island Public Finance Campaign Trial (Beppie Shapiro)
Public Access Room: 20 Years of Great Service (JoAnn Maruoka)
Jean Aoki Addresses Hawaii County Meeting (Helen Hemmes)
Happy 90th Anniversary (Piilani Kaopuiki)
LWV-HI Banner Ad: 'Vote Openly on HB 444' (JoAnn Maruoka)
Forum on Supreme Court decision on Campaign Finance (JoAnn Maruoka)
Lessons Learned from Vote Count (Sue Irvine)
The 2010 Legislative Session (JoAnn Maruoka)
Big Island Report (Helen Hemmes)
We're Cleaning Out
Healthcare Bill (Joy Marshall)
Honolulu League Welcomes New Members
Weekly Obtains Rail Final EIS (Pearl Johnson)
Allow citizens to register and vote on same day (Les Ihara)
League Supports Governor's Rail Review (Charles Carole)
Calendar of Events

Public Access Room: 20 Years of Great Service

20 years ago the Hawaii State Legislature, strongly encouraged by our League, established the Public Access Room (PAR).The PAR is a division of the non-partisan Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB), and has a growing scope of resources available to the public for efficient and effective participation in our government. On March 17 it was honored with Floor Presentations in both chambers of the Legislature.

The PAR is an outstanding resource for the League and all Hawaii’s citizens in learning more about our legislative process. It provides facilities, services and equipment to enhance the public’s ability to participate in the legislative process. These include computers for drafting testimony on legislative issues; internet access as a resource for legislative and State government information; photocopying and distribution for testimony; legislative documents (Hearing Notices, Referral Sheets, Journals, Orders-of-the-Day, Governor’s Messages); reference materials (Hawaii Revised Statutes, Auditor’s Reports, LRB Reports, Informational Handouts, books and pamphlets on effective lobbying); workshops across the state on Legislative process, Useful Internet Sites, and Reading and Understanding Legislative Documents; and expert staff to provide information on legislative and government matters.

PAR Coordinator Suzanne Marinelli and her great staff are true professionals who provide wonderful, friendly service.

You can easily get to the PAR from our website under ‘Legislature Links’ or you can email, telephone (including toll free from neighbor islands) or walk in.

On the PAR website http://hawaii.gov/lrb/par you’ll find the list of PAR services, workshops, newsletters, information sheets, documents and links. Two especially helpful resources are:

- A Participant's Guide: Organization & Function of the Legislature

- A Participant's Guide: Walk through Session, Learn about… bills, deadlines, committees, testimony and so much more.

The PAR is located in the Capitol on the 4th floor, Room 401, (808) 587-0478 phone, (808) 587-0749 TTY phone, and (808) 587-0793 fax. From the Neighbor Islands, dial toll free:

974-4000 Hawai`i;

984-2400 Maui 274-3141 Kaua`i;

1-800-468-4644 Moloka`i Lana`i.

In the March newsletter, Marinelli thanked the public, saying, “As you’ve used our resources to learn more about our legislative process, you’ve inevitably presented better testimony to our legislators ... In the process, you’ve helped them make much better decisions on behalf of us all. And while you were doing all that, you were doing something that was even more important in the long run ... keeping our democracy strong... “Our democracy is only as strong as the use we make of it. Use it or lose it.” And goodness knows, you’ve used it.”

JoAnn Maruoka

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