Members of the House majority meet in caucus at 4:30 p.m. to mull over the most recent draft of legislation that would let the Superferry resume service while an environmental review is conducted. They'll also be talking about a possible date for a special session.
The current draft would permit the Superferry to operate while a full environmental impact statement is being conducted. It would also authorize the state auditor to investigate how the ferry was allowed to sail without having done an environmental assessment.
The House hasn't yet decided whether they'll hold informational briefings on the neighbor islands prior to the start of a special session in addition to hearings that would be held at the Capitol during the session.
Read more in today's Advertiser and Star Bulletin.
Can somebody from House Leadership explain to us why these drafts are not being published? Copies are obviously being leaked to (but not published by) the media, and a copy of an earlier draft found its way onto Larry Geller's blog, but why not simply publish this information on the Capitol website? What harm could be done? In the end, the Lege will pass whatever language it likes.
ReplyDeleteThe secrecy is enfuriating. We deserve to know exactly what the AG has been proposing and if/how the Lingle administration position has changed from earlier drafts. The latest draft is described as authorizing the Governor to impose the operating conditions as she sees fit but apparently does not deliminate any conditions. Are there truly ZERO conditions incorporated into the Governor's legislative proposals?
Doug, after the caucus tonight, leadership released a copy of the latest draft to the press. We've just heard that the Advertiser plans to post it on their website tomorrow, so you should be able to review it. If you have trouble, please give me your contact info and I'll get a copy to you.
ReplyDeleteIt should be on the Capitol website, too, but thanks for the tip.
ReplyDelete