Accountability

Bill 22 (2023): Mandatory public hearings for assessment hikes could fend off ‘marginal’ spending

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii April 18, 2023

The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Honolulu City and County Council on April 19, 2023. _____________ April 19, 2023 10 a.m. Honolulu City Council Chambers To: Honolulu City and County Council Councilmember Tommy Waters, Chair Councilmember Esther Kiaʻāina, Vice

SB1522 SD2 HD1: Rhetorical facelift won’t fix HTA problems

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii April 5, 2023

The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the House Committee on Finance on April 5, 2023. _____________ April 5, 2023 2 p.m. Conference Room 308 and via videoconference To: House Committee on Finance Rep. Kyle T. Yamashita, Chair Rep. Lisa Kitagawa, Vice Chair

HB522 HD1: Protect electronic communication even in crises

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii April 5, 2023

The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Senate Committee on Judiciary on April 5, 2023. _____________ April 5, 2023 9:45 a.m. VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE Conference Room 016 To: Senate Committee on Judiciary Sen. Karl Rhoads, Chair Sen. Mike Gabbard, Vice Chair From: Grassroot

HB719 HD1 SD1: Don’t ruin good bill with transparency exception

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii April 5, 2023

The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Senate Committee on Ways & Means and the Senate Committee on Judiciary on April 6, 2023. _____________ April 6, 2023 10:45 a.m. VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE Conference Room 211 To: Senate Committee on Ways and Means

HB719 HD1: Proposed cap on fees for public records excellent but could go further

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii March 22, 2023

The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Senate Committee on Government Operations on March 21, 2023. _____________ March 21, 2023 3 p.m. VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE Conference Room 225 To: Senate Committee on Government Operations Sen. Angus L.K. McKelvey, Chair

HB719 HD1: Cap fees for public records to increase government transparency

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii March 1, 2023

The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the House Committee on Finance on Feb. 28, 2023. ___________ Feb. 28, 2023 11:30 a.m. VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE Conference Room 308 To: House Committee on Finance Rep. Kyle T. Yamashita, Chair Rep.

Hill optimistic about public records bills, ‘but you never really know’

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii February 22, 2023

Imagine being asked to pony up nearly $350,000 to get access to public communications between the governor’s office and state agencies. That happened to the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii when it requested records related to the COVID-19 pandemic from then-Gov. David Ige’s office, according to Institute Policy Director Malia Hill,

Corruption or incompetence, transparency still the antidote

Keli'i Akina, Ph.D. February 18, 2023

Authorities on good government will point out that corruption isn’t the only explanation for our frustration with local and state governance. Sometimes, the problems we see can be chalked up to inefficiency or incompetence. But no matter what the issue, the antidote is the same: transparency. That was the point

Whether its incompetence or actual corruption, more transparency is the answer

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii February 15, 2023

With scandal and corruption roiling Hawaii politics, the main topic of the Feb. 14, 2023 episode of “Hawaii Together” was the importance of transparency in government, and what the Legislature is doing to ensure there is more of it. In the episode, on ThinkTech Hawaii, Joe Kent, executive vice president

SB991: Cap on fees for public records would promote transparency

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii February 8, 2023

The following testimony was presented Feb. 9, 2023, by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii to the Senate Committee on Government Operations. ___________ February 9, 2023 3 p.m. VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE Conference Room 225 To: Senate Committee on Government Operations Sen. Angus L.K. McKelvey, Chair Sen.