Sunday, April 29, 2012
Civil Beat: 47 bills resurrected in Hawaii legislature
by Larry Geller
Here’s the difference between a little blog like this and a real news website with paid reporters. I could not have spent the time to put together the list of bills that Civil Beat has assembled.
See: Hawaii Legislature Brings 47 Bills Back to Life (Civil Beat, 4/29/2012).
It’s good to see evil SB755 on the list of bills that died. That’s the double-gut-and-replace measure that would have put in place a slew of environmental exemptions for no clear economic benefit.
Now… if 47 bills can be resurrected, perhaps we’re not done with SB755 yet. Or perhaps the budget delay provided a convenient way to dispose of this bill, which has been condemned by community advocates and has been controversial in the press.
On any bill, the House and Senate could decide to agree, and it could still pass. Or that’s my understanding.
So being dead is only a transient description in our legislature.
Also, the legislature makes its rules, and it can break its rules. It’s perfectly legal. Until the final gavel pounds, nothing is certain.
I agree that Civil Beat really has made all the difference when it comes to public access to government information. Most people just don't have the time or knowhow to track all these bills through the labyrinth that is the Hawaii State Legislature.
But also, blogs like this one offer a spin that Civil Beat could never give... As an aggregate of public government information Civil Beat is amazing and second-to-none; but, they can't voice the types of opinions that individual blogs have the luxury of expressing.
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