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Editorial: Legislature reaches out to East Side

Sat., Dec. 19, 2015

Let’s say you want to testify at a legislative hearing in Olympia. Let’s say your travel day was Thursday.

Snoqualmie Pass was closed on multiple occasions. Many who did press on had to chain-up, then chain-down. The pass has already received more snow than it did all of last year.

Then, after half a day of driving – not, hopefully, sliding – you pay for a meal, a room and get some hard-earned shut-eye. The next morning, you awake to discover the hearing has been postponed or canceled.

You could fly instead of driving, but that’s pricey, and the airport is still 60 to 90 minutes from Olympia, depending on traffic.

Either way, you also must factor in the cost of missing a day or two of work.

That’s life east of the Cascade Range, and it’s never been fair to those who want to participate in the legislative process. Lobbyists and West Siders have always had an advantage.

Last year, legislators caught up to available technology that allows remote testimony, sparing East Side citizens considerable time and expense. A pilot program was launched last session, and Sens. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, and Sharon Brown, R-Kennewick, shared the results in an October guest column.

“Nineteen videoconferences to Olympia took place during the 2015 session. Six policy committees utilized remote testimony, with 44 people signing up to testify. Six remote facilities were used, including locations at Spokane Community College, WSU-Spokane and Columbia Basin College in Pasco.”

The experiment has been deemed a success, and the Legislature is planning wider use of remote testimony, according to Padden and Brown, who announced the details in a Friday news release.

Last year, remote testimony was received via closed-circuit television from six fixed locations in Spokane, Pasco, Yakima and Wenatchee. This year, all five Senate meeting rooms will also be outfitted with Skype technology to expand the opportunities for videoconferencing for those signed up to testify.

The Legislature still needs more equipment to achieve its ultimate goal of allowing remote participation during the public comment period for proposed legislation. A more nimble system also would allow people to contribute at hearings that are held with little advanced warning.

Nonetheless, it is encouraging to see legislators respond to the wishes of their East Side colleagues.

In the past, lawmakers leaned on excuses that served to make their lives simpler. Less participation meant quicker meetings. And, yes, it is easier to interact with someone who is testifying in person. Plus, the Legislature could save money if the onus is kept on Eastern Washington residents to absorb travel costs.

But the participatory nature of democracy is diminished when only those who can afford to testify do so. That’s a cost that can’t be neatly computed up, but it is very real.

Thanks to technology, and the willingness of lawmakers to embrace it, the legislative process is being enriched.

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