Hawaii Civil Unions Bill Hearing on 2/5, Testimony Needed!

URGENT ALERT: House Bill 444, A Bill For An Act Relating to Civil Unions in Hawaii, will be heard by the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, 2/5/09, at 2 p.m. in Conference Room 325 at the State Capitol (415 South Beretania Street, Honolulu).

Testimony needs to be submitted at least 24 hours prior to the hearing with a cover indicating:

* Testifier's name with position/title and organization
* The Committee the comments are directed to (in this case, Judiciary)
* The date and time of the hearing
* The measure number (HB 444)
* The number of copies the Committee is requesting

Testimony can be submitted in ONE of the following ways:

* Paper: One copy plus original to Room 302 in the State Capitol
* Fax: For comments less than five pages in length, transmit to 586-8494 (Oahu) or 1-800-535-3859 (Neighbor Islands).
* E-mail: For comments less than five pages in length, email to JUDtestimony@capitol.hawaii.gov

RECOMMENDATIONS: Please refer to Family Equality Coalition e-mail of 2/1/09 for suggested guidelines for preparing testimony. It is posted at http://tinyurl.com/family-equality. It is recommended that you keep your testimony brief! The goal is to get through this hearing in no more than three to four hours and move directly to a vote.

PLANS TO MEET: Please arrive by 1 p.m. We will meet in the Capitol Rotunda on the Iolani Palace side. Family Equality Coalition will distribute Equality stickers for you to wear during the hearing. We will also go over some guidelines for suggested decorum.

IF UNABLE TO ATTEND: If you are unable to attend the public hearing, please submit testimony regardless. It will still be part of the public record and be of much benefit.

Crossposted via Pam's House Blend.