Disappeared News

House Minority Leader Rep. Lynn Finnegan decried the lack of notification on a flock of bills passed out of the House this week.

"The majority rushed through some 30 bills yesterday, instead of giving members of the House and the public 24 hour advanced notice before voting on final reading."

In her Tuesday press release, Rep. Finnegan acknowledges that the 24 hour notice is practiced as a courtesy.

Courtesy or not, the incident demonstrates that House procedures can be and are altered at whim.

This session has been unusual in the number of procedures or rules that have been bent, each time with the effect of keeping the public in the dark on legislative activities.

The Bring Sunshine to Hawaii website not only has a petition to urge the legislature to bring about badly needed reforms, but it also has an email address to which "leaks" may be sent.