Legislature(2009 - 2010)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
01/28/2010 09:00 AM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB184 | |
| SB194 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 62 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 184 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 194 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 184-INTERNET ACCESS TO LEG COMMITTEE MTGS
9:03:21 AM
CHAIR MENARD said the first order of business to come before the
committee was SB 184.
SENATOR FRENCH, sponsor of SB 184, said the capitol is best
brought to Alaska through the Internet. Some parts of Alaska are
remote and inaccessible in relation to the state capitol, no
matter where it is in the state. He felt that every committee
room should be feeding a stream of information to the laptops
and handheld devices of Alaska's citizens and this can be done
with the simple, reliable and inexpensive technology of web
cameras. He said he can foresee a day when citizens of Alaska
will watch what is happening in the capitol over their cell
phones.
SENATOR FRENCH said he filed SB 184 last spring and the
Legislative Council became interested. Working with the
Legislative Information Office (LIO), they began to implement
the idea.
SUE GULLUFSEN, Manager of the LIO, said she received permission
from Senate and House Rules Committee Chairs to implement a
pilot project and to use some funds from Legislative Council for
consulting fees. She did not use the funds because her IT staff,
Jake Carpenter and Tim Powers, developed the pilot project in-
house. She said her staff outfitted the House Health and Social
Services committee (HHSS) room with webcams. [She showed live
streaming video coverage of the House State Affairs committee
meeting from her laptop which projected on the wall.] Ms.
Gullufsen pointed out that a small screen showed the testifiers
and a big screen showed the committee members simultaneously.
She said the Butrovich Room was also outfitted with two cameras
in the same manner.
9:07:40 AM
MS. GULLUFSEN explained that the audio feed is tied to the
teleconference feed and will go silent during an At Ease and
upon adjournment of the meeting. Ms. Gullufsen noted that
webcams are good but not TV production quality.
MS. GULLUFSON said that if the pilot project is successful, she
will ask for funding from Legislative Council or if SB 184
becomes law, funding will go through the Finance Committee
process. LIO would outfit the seven remaining committee rooms in
the capitol building making every committee meeting held during
the session accessible online. She explained that while SB 184
would not mandate that all video and audio be archived, the LIO
intended to do so. People could go back later and see or hear
any committee meeting that took place during session which is
helpful for committee aides and the public.
9:09:37 AM
MS. GULLUFSEN said she would need $56,000 to outfit seven
committee rooms and pay a part-time staff person to monitor from
the new media services office on the second floor of the Terry
Miller building.
MATT WALLACE, Alaska Public Interest Research Group (AKPIRG)
said that AKPIRG is a statewide citizen oriented non-profit non-
partisan public interest advocacy group. AKPIRG supports SB 184.
9:12:30 AM
MR. WALLACE said people outside of the capitol will be able to
closely monitor what goes on and citizens will be able to watch
the proceedings of the state. Public participation and
monitoring should be encouraged; the more sunshine on the
legislative process, the better. He encouraged the use of open
and cross-platform standards so that the most people possible,
using the widest range of technology, can take advantage of it.
ARLISS STURGULEWSKI, former Alaska state Senator, spoke in
support of SB 184. She said that SB 184 is related to past
actions to make government more accessible and is a good step to
further maximize citizen's access to their legislative decision
makers. State residents want and welcome information and she
suggests the legislators should make it clear and easy for their
constituents, particularly older people, to understand where to
find information and how to use this new technology.
9:15:38 AM
CLARK GRUENING, with the City and Borough of Juneau and the
Alaska Committee, spoke in support of SB 184. He said the City
and Borough of Juneau supports and largely funds Gavel to Gavel
and that the Alaska Committee has worked to improve access to
the capitol and also supports Gavel to Gavel. However, Gavel to
Gavel is not in every committee room simultaneously. SB 184
would lead to every committee being accessible through the
Internet. He noted that KTOO, the force behind Gavel to Gavel,
is in support of SB 184.
9:18:27 AM
CHAIR MENARD closed public testimony.
SENATOR MEYER asked if users will have to add additional memory
to their computers or handheld devices and if the video will
come across slowly or in real time.
JAKE CARPENTER, Legislative Information Office, replied that
they use FLASH which is the same technology used by many
websites such as Youtube or Hulu. Most MAC's and PC's have FLASH
installed. The video is not high definition and most computers
should be able to view it. He said that people with dial-up or
slow connections will not get the same quality of service. Once
the meeting is over, however, it will be downloadable.
SENATOR MEYER asked if a 1990 computer would need to be
upgraded.
MR. CARPENTER replied yes.
9:20:47 AM
SENATOR MEYER moved to report SB 184 from committee with
individual recommendations and attached fiscal note(s). There
being no objection, SB 184 moved from the Senate State Affairs
Standing Committee.
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