As mentioned in my previous post about the recent court decision in Acasio V House of Representatives, 26 is the magic number.

I’m guessing because you are on this list, or have clicked on this post, that you’re serious about making change happen. Below is one clear easy thing you can do TODAY, that will take 5 minutes at the most and won’t cost you a dime, but could move mountains in terms of changing the way business is done in our state government.

Yes, the GoFundMe campaign in support of the 8 citizen plaintiffs still needs help to raise an additional $4,000 and any amount $25 to $100 or whatever will help.

But the below action costs nothing and is also hugely important.

Fundamental principle: If/when 26 members (or more) of the State House want to do something, it will get done.

This is the power of a majority.

26 members decide who will be Speaker of the House, Chair the all powerful Finance Committee, and in general control/direct all meaningful actions that occur or fail to occur in the House of Representatives.

If you, as a private citizen/voter, want to make change happen and support the 8 citizen plaintiffs – you must reach out today and ask your District Representative to do the right thing and be part of a 26 member majority that values citizen participation, open government, and following the constitution.

I’ve pasted below an actual email (I’ve deleted the names) that was just sent out by one concerned citizen, that NAIL’s IT.

Please use this as a template and write your own email TODAY directly to YOUR DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE.

A complete contact list of all Representatives is HERE and if you need help identifying your own District Representative – here is a link to an easy to use search tool – just enter your address.

Now please. Send this one email out

Aloha Representative NAME,

As a constituent in your district, I am writing on behalf of the 8 citizen plaintiffs in the Acasio v. House of Representatives who just won in court.

I am writing to strongly urge your support of the following actions:

1) A formal apology: The State House of Representatives should offer an apology to the 8 citizen plaintiffs and acknowledge the validity of Judge Ashford’s decision

2) Financial reimbursement: the House should reimburse plaintiffs’ legal expenses incurred while defending the public’s constitutional rights

3) Strict Constitutional Compliance: House members should follow the constitution and only conduct committee decision-making discussions during a public meetings, that have been properly “noticed”

If you have not been following this case closely, this group sued the House for not following Article III, Section 12 of the State Constitution which mandates that “[e]very meeting of a committee … held for the purpose of making decisions on matters referred to the committees shall be open to the public.”

The lawsuit specifically challenged the House Advisory Committee on Rules and Procedure for making decisions and finalizing rules in secret, closed-door meetings without public notice or public access.

The Court ruled the Hawaiʻi State House of Representatives violated the Hawaiʻi Constitution when the committee met in secret and made decisions.

The plaintiff’s goals are altruistic and essential for democracy:

Hawaiʻi’s constitutional protections remain strong
Public access and open meetings are honored and embraced
Legislative committee decisions are made in public

Re-establishing public trust in the Hawaii State Legislature has to begin with the legislature following its own laws.

The judge has ruled.

I am writing today to request that action be taken by you, and a majority in the House that is congruent with this ruling. If you are in agreement, please express your position on this issue to Speaker Nakamura, and to your colleagues in the House.

Thank you in advance for letting me know your thoughts on this important issue.

Mahalo,
(NAME)
Your Constituent
Zip Code