LIHU‘E — The Public Access Room — the state’s non-partisan Legislative Reference Bureau — will be conducting a series of free neighborhood workshops titled “We the Powerful,” designed to demystify the state’s lawmaking process. PAR coordinator Suzanne Marinelli said the
LIHU‘E — The Public Access Room — the state’s non-partisan Legislative Reference Bureau — will be conducting a series of free neighborhood workshops titled “We the Powerful,” designed to demystify the state’s lawmaking process.
PAR coordinator Suzanne Marinelli said the one-and-a-half meetings will demonstrate ways that people can speak out at the legislature without ever having to leave Kauai. She promised handouts and an entertaining and informative PowerPoint presentation.
“All are welcome,” she said. “No registration or prior experience is required.”
The PAR, the public’s office at the state Capitol, assists residents as they engage in state legislative government. PAR services are free.
“The nonpartisan PAR is the nation’s only legislative resource geared specifically to serving a state’s citizens,” Marinelli said. “We’re nearly 22 years old.”
During this year’s legislative session, nearly 2,500 people visited the PAR office at the Capitol to make direct use of the taxpayer-funded resources,she said.
The workshops are designed to be useful to newcomers and veterans of the legislative process.
The Legislature’s website has recently gone trough a complete makeover.
“People who are new to the site should not have any trouble navigating it,” she said. “But those of us who have used the older site for years may need a bit of assistance getting used to the redesigned site. It’s an excellent redesign, but habits and well-established patterns die hard.”
When the Legislature came online in 1999, Neighbor Islands’ residents received a big boost in the ability to participate in government, since bills could be accessed in a timely way, said Marinelli, who became the office’s coordinator just before the 2001 session convened. She said she was determined to use online resources to serve Neighbor Islands’ communities more fully.
Email testimony, Marinelli said, has provided “huge benefits” to Neighbor Islands.
“The program originated in the Public Access Room about 10 years ago,” she said. “To our knowledge, we’re still the only state that has such a program.”
Schedule
The schedule of PAR’s November presentations is as follows:
Saturday, 12 p.m., at Koloa Library Conference Room
Monday, 6:30 p.m., at Waimea Public Library
Nov. 15 , 6 p.m., at Lihu‘e Civic Center, Mo‘ikeha, Room 2A/2B
Nov. 16, 6 p.m., at Princeville Public Library
Nov. 17, 6:30 p.m., at Hanapepe Library Conference Room.
Nov. 18, 6 p.m., at Kapa‘a Library Conference Room
Contact PAR at par@capitol.hawaii.gov or call toll free at 274 3141 ext. 7-0478 for more information or to request special assistance such as sign language interpreters.
