Andria Tupola on Government Reform

Ease permitting processes for developers

Video testimony to legislature; no constitutional convention

A: I strongly advocate for allowing the people's voices to be heard through the legislative process and to work on improving the current process. However, we should be concerned about the costs of a constitutional convention and the specifics of the process.

In 1978, the constitutional convention cost $2.6 million dollars. The cost for a constitutional convention in 2018 would be much higher and comes at a time when our state is in financial chaos.

I would suggest as an alternative to a constitutional convention that we increase the transparency and access to the legislative session by allowing remote video testimony for our neighbor island and rural residents, giving the public increased insight to laws and bills through video recap and commentary after sessions, and taking significant steps to make it easier for all residents to participate and be heard in the lawmaking process.