Senate Superferry hearing nears Hour 6

State senators are approaching their sixth hour of testimony on the draft Superferry legislation in the state Capitol auditorium downstairs.

A medium-sized (not huge) group gathered in the auditorium, moving in and out throughout the day. Some spoke passionately; others offered more measured testimony both for and against allowing the ferry to sail.

They included Attorney General Mark Bennett, Department of Transportation director Barry Fukunaga, state officials, small business owners, Superferry employees, students and teachers among others.

If you've got some time on your hands (or are just really interested in the Superferry issue), over a thousand pages of today's testimonies are available online here.

As of this post, 164 people have signed up to testify in person at tomorrow's House public hearing, and 2200 people have submitted written testimony just for the record, according to the House Chief Clerk's Office.

To testify in person, send testimony to: HouseTestimony@Capitol.hawaii.gov. To simply send testimony for the record (and not appear at the hearing) send testimony to HouseRecord@Capitol.hawaii.gov. Testimony will be accepted until the end of the hearing, but the earlier testimony is submitted, the earlier the person will be called to speak.

After the start of the hearing, and once the chairs start to move through the testifier list, testimony that has been presented will be posted for public viewing online at the Capitol website.