Brush Up Your Legislature!

Christmas lights and "complete turkey dinner" ads are starting to crop up around town, which can only mean that something big is right around the corner: the start of the state's Legislative session.

The 2006 Legislative session officially opens on Wed, January 19, but informational hearings in preparation for the session have begun this week (including this one today). And it's going to be an interesting year--an election year!

So, film-interested citizens of Hawaii, listen up! Now's the time to brush up on the who's who and the what's what of the upcoming Legislative session. Here are the committees you should be familiar with:

Senate:
1. MAT - Media, Arts, Science, and Technology Committee chaired by Carol Fukunaga and David Ige (vice chair)
2. WAM - Ways and Means Committee chaired by Brian Taniguchi and Shan Tsutsui (vice chair)

House:
1. TAC - Tourism & Culture Committee chaired by Jerry Chang and Kyle Yamashita (vice chair)
2. EDB - Economic Development & Business Concerns Committee chaired by Jon Riki Karamatsu (who replaced Bob Herkes as chair) and Glenn Wakai (vice chair)
3. FIN - Finance Committee chaired by Dwight Takamine and Bertha Kawakami (vice chair)

Also read the following posts to jog your memory of what happened for film during the last Legislative session:
>> "Widespread Support"
>> Elegy for Film Bills and Mahalo
>> R.I.P. 2005 Film Bills
>> What's the Difference?: Film Bills Demystified

Finally, go back to grade school, but this time, master the basics that every Hawaii and American citizen should know:
>> FIND YOUR LEGISLATORS
>> Schoolhouse Rock Redux
>> Legislative Alphabet Soup
>> How a Bill Becomes a Law
>> How to Submit Testimony
>> Hawaii Legislature FAQs