DATE: Wednesday, March 1, 2000
TIME: 2:30 pm
PLACE: House Conf room 325
 

RE: HB 2888 RELATING TO PUBLIC ACCESS
 

Chairman Menor, Vice-chair Lee, and members of the Committee,
 

My name is Bart Dame. I am a volunteer, Olelo-certified producer, director, and technician. And I am here to speak against HB2888 as currently written. While I have developed these ideas in consultation with other Olelo-certified producers, directors and technicians, and with former and current Olelo employees, I am speaking today as an individual and not as a representative of any organization. And, I am speaking against HB2888 as currently written.
 

HB2888 would grant to the boards of the PEG organizations the power to appoint their own directors, in exchange for their agreement to be bound by the requirements of the "Sunshine Laws".
 

Frankly, I think this is premature at this time. First, the PEG organizations should be bound by the sunshine laws. The Olelo board, in particular, does not have a history of being open or accountable. Let them first develop a culture of openness and accountability within their organizations through the adoption of "sunshine" practices. Once they have shown themselves willing to be accountable, then it will be appropriate to discuss less oversight and more autonomy. At present, there is too much distrust.
 

Furthermore, before the PEG organizations are "spun off", the State should make efforts to ensure that future boards will be representative of all the stakeholders in the PEG mission. Towards this end, I would urge substituting the language of HB2953 for the current content of this bill, with amendments specifying the addition of three seats designated for public access users. This would result in more balanced and representative boards, while ensuring that the primary mission of the PEG organizations, i.e., free speech access to cable, will be jealously protected.
 

In conclusion, while I do support the general goal of "spinning off" the PEG organizations from government control, I fear HB2888, as currently written, is based upon faulty assumptions and would lock into the PEG organizations structural defects that should be corrected while the DCCA still controls the board appointment process.
 

Thank you for the opportunity to testify on this matter.