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Although the 2021 session of the Hawaii Legislature doesn’t officially convene until later this month, some committee meetings are already underway.
The first meeting of the new Committee on Pandemic and Disaster Preparedness started off like most legislative meetings, with Representative Linda Ichiyama taking a roll call of members and introducing the agenda.
Unlike usual committee meetings however, the pubic gallery was empty and representatives and speakers were not together. They instead communicated from various remote locations through Zoom.
When the COVID-19 pandemic descended on Hawaii in the middle of the 2020 legislative session, lawmakers committed to providing remote viewing options for all public hearings.