Honolulu Civil Beat | 'Copy and paste bills': How they work: Hawaii News Now Sunrise @civilbeat | Uploaded February 2024 | Updated October 2024, 5 hours ago.
In theory, bills should be introduced to Hawaii’s Legislature by Jan. 24. That’s not exactly how things work in practice, as Civil Beat Politics Editor Chad Blair told Hawaii News Now Sunrise.
Enter: Short-form bills. Dozens are introduced every session, and they’re almost completely blank so that lawmakers can insert language later on to handle an unforeseen matter. The title offers the only clue as to what they could be used for.
“The titles are usually just a single word — environment, education, housing — or maybe two words, such as disaster management,” Blair wrote in his latest column. “The titles are so vague that a lawmaker could drive a Toyota Tacoma through it, transforming it into just about anything.”
Read the column: civilbeat.org/?p=1627410
In theory, bills should be introduced to Hawaii’s Legislature by Jan. 24. That’s not exactly how things work in practice, as Civil Beat Politics Editor Chad Blair told Hawaii News Now Sunrise.
Enter: Short-form bills. Dozens are introduced every session, and they’re almost completely blank so that lawmakers can insert language later on to handle an unforeseen matter. The title offers the only clue as to what they could be used for.
“The titles are usually just a single word — environment, education, housing — or maybe two words, such as disaster management,” Blair wrote in his latest column. “The titles are so vague that a lawmaker could drive a Toyota Tacoma through it, transforming it into just about anything.”
Read the column: civilbeat.org/?p=1627410
