LIHU‘E — A team from the state Legislature’s Pubic Access Room will be on Kaua‘i for an entire week, starting Thursday, offering a series of free “We the Powerful” workshops about Hawai‘i’s legislative process. “Our workshops provide an easy path
LIHU‘E — A team from the state Legislature’s Pubic Access Room will be on Kaua‘i for an entire week, starting Thursday, offering a series of free “We the Powerful” workshops about Hawai‘i’s legislative process.
“Our workshops provide an easy path to helping people become more effective advocates for the issues that concern them,” said PAR Coordinator Suzanne Marinelli.
Each year, PAR, a division of the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau, reaches out to Neighbor Islands in an effort to empower all Hawai‘i citizens in the annual lawmaking process which takes place during the first four months of the year.
The PAR’s workshops, led by Marinelli, will cover topics such as understanding the legislative process, delivering effective testimony and making sense of the calendar and its deadlines. It will also include an overview of the Legislature’s redesigned website.
Marinelli said the workshops “demystify the goings-on at the Capitol; they help people understand that their perspectives, their experiences, are crucial to the development of good laws for Hawai‘i.”
The workshop’s overriding theme is, “Renewed inspiration to be part of the solution,” she said in a press release Thursday.
On Kaua‘i, there will be five workshops spread through a period of seven days. The 1 1/2 hour workshops — designed for newcomers and veterans of the legislative process — will demonstrate how people can speak out without ever having to leave Kaua‘i, she said.
The workshops will include an overview of those working at the state Capitol, what they do there, and how and when lawmaking takes place. It will give people “handy tips” for finding the information, and will also provide assistance in writing and delivering effective testimony, either from home or in person at the Capitol, according to Marinelli.
No registration or prior experience is required. And it’s free, as are all services provided by the PAR.
“Our citizens are invaluable resources; we are honored to serve them in this way,” Marinelli said.
The workshops are as follows:
• Hanapepe Public Library, Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
• Koloa Library Conference Room, Saturday at noon
• Kapa‘a Library Conference Room, Monday at 6 p.m.
• Lihu‘e Neighborhood Center, Nov. 20 at 6 p.m.
• Princeville Public Library, Nov. 21 at 6 p.m.
For more information, or to arrange for individual tutorials or group workshops, contact PAR at par@capitol.hawaii.gov or toll free at 274-3141 ext. 7-0478. Contact PAR for sign language interpreters.
