Sounding off at lawmakers may no longer require a trip to Olympia

Olympia determines your taxes. It determines what transportation packages get funded. It makes laws that impact your life.

Yet few taxpayers have the time to travel to Olympia in order to let lawmakers know how they really feel.

But that could be changing.

The Washington legislature could start allowing remote testimony as early as next session. Alaska already allows it and so does Nevada. Colorado’s governor just signed a bill into law approving it.

Jason Mercier with the Washington Policy Institute knows it’s a pain for anyone to get to Olympia for a hearing.

“To come over to Olympia for your three minutes of testifying on an issue important to you, you’re being asked to commit an entire day and maybe an overnight,” he said. “For many Washingtonians, that’s just not realistic.”

So many great ideas or great perspectives that lawmakers need to hear are never heard.

Mercier said anything that allows more public participation in the legislative process can only be good. “The concept of the remote testimony is really to open up the process so that all of us have a chance,” he said.

What’s stopping lawmakers from signing off on remote testimony is how the video conferencing would work in the hearing rooms. They don’t want distractions, and they’re worried about needing more time for testimony when hearing rooms are often already packed with people who made the trek to Olympia. They’re also concerned about setting up time for remote testimony and not having anyone there.

Mercier said the hope is to start with a few committees and see how it goes. “I think that it’s very likely that you could see some trial tests this coming session,” he said.

Mercier imagines a few remote centers set up to start. There’s also the potential to have these centers set up at local community colleges and universities, which already have remote streaming systems.