It could soon be a whole lot easier for Washington citizens to have their opinion heard in Olympia.
Sen. Cyrus Habib (D-Kirkland) and Secretary of State Kim Wyman have proposed a bill that will allow people in Washington to testify at legislative hearings by simply uploading video of themselves talking, with lawmakers then accessing a server to watch the videos. The idea is to create more accessibility for citizens by using technology, and give politicians a way to gather more public opinion on a given matter.
Today, you must make the trek to Olympia — an hour drive from Seattle — to testify for three minutes at the most, Habib said. There are also ways to testify from remote locations, but only from specific places that have the right infrastructure set up.
Habib, who is involved with other technology-related laws, thought there was a better way for people to speak up, but not have to sacrifice time and money to do so.
“We are living in a world where almost all of us have a video camera at all times,” he told GeekWire. “Why not just create an interface that allows people to produce their own testimony video content and have an interface that allows you to upload it?”
Habib envisions a mobile app where users can record footage of themselves, type in a bill number, and easily their video. This type of service would be the first of its kind in the country, he noted.
Habib said he was inspired to propose the bill after seeing the response from John Oliver’s rant on net neutrality, where the Last Week Tonight host encouraged viewers to comment on the FCC’s site with their opinions on a free and open Internet. There was so much engagement that the FCC’s site ultimately crashed.
Habib noticed how Oliver’s audience — many of them ordinary people in their 20s — voiced its opinion on a rather complicated topic when there was a simple way to do so online. He thought the same idea could be applied to testifying in Olympia.
“This bill is going to be great for engaging college students and young people in politics, to really get them involved with issues that affect them,” Habib explained. “I do think there’s tremendous potential for a viral effect to occur on certain issues.”
The bill would also be beneficial for people that are intimidated by testifying process.
“This is good for people who may be a little less inclined to put themselves out there in a more intense, formal setting,” Habib said.
There is a companion bill sponsored in the House by Rep. Marcus Riccelli (D-Spokane) that would allow for remote testimonial locations. Habib’s bill, which would let people upload video from anywhere and at any time, is co-sponsored by members of both parties.
“We always demand that millennials should shape their political activity to how we’ve always done things,” Habib said. “Instead, we should be asking ourselves how we can shape how we’ve always done things to some of the innovations of the millennial generation.”
