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Minutes for HB2067 - Committee on Federal and State Affairs
Short Title
Providing for audio and video broadcasts of legislative meetings.
Minutes Content for Wed, Feb 20, 2019
Chairperson Barker opened the floor for hearing on HB2067. Jason Long, Revisor, gave an overview of the bill (Attachment 1). Questions were asked by Chairperson Barker and Representatives Resman and Lusk.
Chairperson Barker recognized Representative Stephanie Clayton, who testified as a proponent of HB2067 (Attachment 2). She supports making this a statute because, although currently the House and Senate leadership support transparency, that could change when there is a change in leadership. Questions were asked by Representatives Smith and Lusk.
Chairperson Barker then asked Doug Anstaett to testify. He is a proponent of HB2067 (Attachment 3). What the Legislature does here in Topeka affects all the citizens of Kansas. Any improvement that would allow the citizens to witness what government is doing would further enhance the democratic process in our state.
Kent Cornish testified in support of HB2067 (Attachment 4). The citizens of Kansas deserve to hear and see more of the legislative process and the information that is used to make the laws that are enacted. If there were videos of the proceedings, he is sure the television stations would use them in their coverage of legislative news.
The Chairman recognized Jacquelyn Lightcap who testified on behalf of Cille King as a proponent of HB2067 (Attachment 5). The League of Women Voters supports making committee meetings available to constituents across the state so they can see and hear the discussions on bills that affect them.
Chairperson Barker stated that there was written proponent testimony from the Kansas Sunshine Coalition for Open Government (Attachment 6); the League of Women Voters of Johnson County (Attachment 7); and Mainstream Coalition (Attachment 8).
Chairperson Barker asked if there were any further proponents. Seeing none, he asked if there were any opponents to HB2067. There were none.
Chairperson Barker recognized Tom Day, Director of Legislative Administrative Services, who testified as a neutral on HB2067 (Attachment 9). All thirteen committee rooms have real-time audio live streaming. Since 2018 all audio-streamed meetings are archived within 30 minutes of their broadcast. The most costly term in HB2067 is the word "accessible." If that means providing real-time closed-captioning services, that cost could have a significant fiscal impact since those services cost approximately $3.00 a minute. He has some concerns about the definition of committee meetings since it states "any committee established by law." There are numerous committees and boards fitting that definition that meet in the Statehouse, but they may not meet in rooms that have live-streaming capabilities. He also has concerns about the cost. One of the provisions in the budget bill stated that they could not spend over $242,000 out of the legislature's budget to implement the audio and video live streaming; however, no money was added to their budget for that. Additional funding will have to be added to the Legislature's budget to proceed with video live streaming. Questions were asked by Representatives Arnberger, Woodard, and Humphries, as well as Chairperson Barker
Chairperson Barker closed the hearing on HB2067.
Chairperson Barker asked if there were any further requests for bill introductions. There were none.
Chairperson Barker stated that the subcommittee had completed their meetings and a report is being prepared by the Research Department. After they receive the report, the Committee will probably be taking up the sports wagering issue.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:44 a.m.
