Capitol TV offering greater access, transparency to the legislative process

Capitol TV has been busy in the “off-season” and the technology lessons of pandemic times have resulted in some lasting improvements. It’s all about demystifying and creating accessibility for Rhode Islanders – particularly those with interest in the legislative issues of the day, but who would not be able to spend hours at the RI State House watching the slow process develop.

During the time when we watched live, or recorded, the daily pandemic updates with the Governor and in the beginning with Margie O’Brien, host of Capitol TV taking questions from the media, Capitol TV began stretching its legs to see what capabilities it may have.

In addition to greater access a QR code addition will prevent the search through the Rhode Island website to find the bills being discussed.

We asked Capitol TV for a quick synopsis of how their services have been changing and O’Brien provided us with this:

Three new hearing rooms have been created to hold Senate and House Committees which can then be aired on Capitol TV and streamed live on the Web.  Rooms 211 and 212 are earmarked for the Rhode Island Senate while room 135 is predominately for the House, however, accommodations can be made if there are large crowds expected.  All three rooms were designed to be ADA compliant for both committee members and the public. The addition of these rooms allow for the public to have a greater opportunity to attend hearings, testify on bills or simply, watch all of the action from the comfort of their own home.

In another step to increase transparency, Capitol TV has unveiled a new feature. 

When key bills are discussed on the House or Senate floor, they will appear on the Capitol TV broadcast or web-stream with a QR code.  Viewers can hover their smart phone over the code and immediately obtain the full text of the bill. 

From the Senate

Going forward, hearings held in Room 211 and Room 212, known as the Senator Roger R. Badeau Hearing Room, can be broadcast and streamed as well. The renovations have maintained the historic character of the hearing rooms while outfitting them with modern, wall-mounted, robotic cameras.

The Senate says this “makes our chamber’s work more accessible than ever. The number of Senate hearing rooms set up for broadcasting and live streaming is being doubled, from two to four, meaning video of all our committees will soon be available to the public.”

TELEVISION AND LIVESTREAM – How to watch?

Meetings will be televised by Capitol Television, which can be seen on Cox Communications Channels 15 and 61 for high definition, i3Broadband (Formerly Full Channel) on Channel 15 and on Channel 34 on Verizon. 

Live streaming is available at https://www.rilegislature.gov/CapTV/Pages/default.aspx.