Today I began in the Government Committee, which I can now officially declare as my favorite committee (though admittedly this may have to do with the controversial nature of the bills that have been introduced in the past couple of weeks). The morning started again with a controversial bill, HB2404, which sets regulations on paid circulators(people who collect signatures) to ensure the integrity of the signatures collected, including banning being paid on a per-signature basis, setting up criminal punishments for those who violate rules, etc. Those opposed argued that it unfairly burdened the initiative process by limiting their ability to use these paid circulators, which they claimed were necessary to create an initiative. Meanwhile, those in favor argued that this would protect the initiative process from being affected by fraudulent signatures. There were so many people signed up to speak that the chairman limited testimonies to a minute each (and three minutes if you were the first to speak in opposition or in favor), which was very difficult for many to follow, especially since the required introductions eat up a large portion of that minute. Though at times the audience got rowdy (for lack of a better term) towards the legislators, it was very inspiring to see the passion that so many citizens had for this issue.
The same could be said for the legislators, who debated and questioned and picked apart the bill line by line. Because of time, again questions were limited, but it brings up the quote of the day. I want to play the whole segment because I felt it was very powerful and emphasizes the importance of these public committee hearings: [VIDEO/QUOTE WILL COME SOON IT HAS NOT YET BEEN PUT INTO PUBLIC RECORD BUT I PROMISE TO UPDATE THIS AS SOON AS IT IS AVAILABLE IM SORRRRYYY]
Whatever side of the aisle you may come from, it is commendable that these legislators not only are open to suggestions and are willing to work with those in opposition to reach a compromise but that these legislators also realize the importance of working with the public on the issues that they care about.
After the Government Committee, I went to the House floor, where they debated and passed more laws. If you care to see the whole thing, be sure to click here [AGAIN NOT AVAILABLE SORRY].
Thursday, February 16, 2017
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This sounds really cool! Interesting to know that citizens really care about the bills being passed. Sounds like you are having a lot of fun dealing with controversial bills. Can't wait until next weeks post!
ReplyDeleteThanks Aran! They definitely are much more interesting. See you next week!
DeleteInteresting! Yesterday, I was asked to sign a petition outside of the library. I wonder if the person making this request was, in fact, a paid circulator. Did the committee comment on how frequently fraudulent signatures are submitted and in what types of instances they are most common? How is type of "fraud" even discovered? I'd imagine that fact checking takes an awful long time!
ReplyDeleteNo one provided much evidence, though those opposed to the bill claimed it was not that big of a risk, and those in favor said it was. The fraud is discovered when someone challenges those signatures and it goes to court, and part of this legislation is to open the window for someone to do it, but I agree- it sounds like it would take a while!
DeleteInteresting that the video is not in public record yet. Aren't the proceedings open to the public and streamed live? Are there things in a public hearing like this that would not end up in the record?
ReplyDeleteThey are, but they then have to upload it onto the website. I imagine that it was because it was something that happened only the day before, but usually they are online fairly quickly
DeleteWow, seems as though everything seems to be coming along really well. With regards to the video of the public committee hearings, is there a certain confidentiality protocol it must go through before being released?
ReplyDeleteHi Ameya! No, I don't think there is, considering all the members know that they are being filmed live for the public to see, so a lot of work is done also off-camera
DeleteHey Mimi! It seems like that confidentiality seems to play a bigger role in our, and many of our peers' projects, than previously thought. Anyway, what is your stance on paid circulators, based on what you've seen while in committee and outside of it? Hope the rest of your project goes great!
ReplyDeletePersonally, I could see how circulators can become fraudulent if they are paid on a per-signature basis, but I feel that the original version of the bill, which included provisions like making the person hiring a circulator responsible for any fraudulent signatures collected, as too burdensome for those who are trying to start an initiative. Fortunately, the bill has been heavily amended from its original form and is now heading in what I believe is the right direction. In general- paid circulators (at least according to the testimony that I heard) are a vital part to an initiative considering that many of the people running them cannot get enough volunteer time to get the number of signatures required.
DeleteHey Mimi! I have to say, it's pretty interesting to read about the similarities between the parliamentary procedures governing debate in the House and the procedures I've seen in Model UN. How exactly are the rules decided? Does the committee chair have absolute power in regulating speaking times--could he/she end all debate on a bill and force a vote if he/she wanted to?
ReplyDeleteHi Grady! I've actually noticed the same similarities as well. As far as I know, the chairman actually does have that power, though it is customary to allow for speaking times, though different chairs have different rules as to how many or how long when it comes to bills that many have signed up to speak on
DeleteHi Mimi. So far, it sounds like you are having quite an interesting project. Although, I do have one question: will they warn people ahead of time, or does it depend on how many people show up? To add to that, are these speeches more organized for both sides or can anybody that wants to express there opinion have the ability to go up?
ReplyDeleteHi Alex! It depends on how many people have signed up to speak/how many bills they have to hear that day. The chairman will announce at the beginning of the meeting what the rules on speaking will be, so people at least have a little time to prepare/adjust their speeches. Though many of the people speaking are from organizations or companies, many are regular people who know about the issue! So feel free to come on down one day to argue for a bill you care about.
DeleteHi Mimi, sounds like you're having fun in the committee. With this in mind, what has been you largest challenge while in the Government Commitee. Thank you for considering my question, keep up the great work.
ReplyDeleteHi Zand! My largest challenge in the Government committee is not being able to argue for either side of an issue while the legislators are in heavy debate. One day I will have to sign up to speak on a bill because it is very difficult to not express an opinion on these issues!
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