Sludge/Wikipedia
By Mary Jo Pitz | Arizona Republic
Amid fractious policy debates at the Arizona Capitol, one universal sentiment has emerged: Widespread exasperation with a computer system that helps lawmakers and the public track bills and allows for public comment.
The problem? It moves like sludge.
Ever since committees started hearing testimony on bills in mid-January, the system has been balky.
Users have spent countless hours over the past month staring at frozen screens as they try to access information on bills and committees.
Technology experts at the Arizona Legislative Council are working on a fix to the system, known alternately as the “request-to-speak” system or the “bill status inquiry” system. They say it will allow information on a bill to pop up almost instantaneously. But an updated application that was added to the system Wednesday night failed to fix all the problems, so for now, users are stuck with the status quo.
“Almost looks like they don’t want to hear from us,” said Karen McLaughlin, after tussling with the slow-moving program. She tracks legislation for the Children’s Action Alliance.
While that wasn’t the intent, Legislative Council executive director Mike Braun acknowledged the slowdown has fueled many a conspiracy and tried many a temper.
“It is the one thing that has unified the state of Arizona,” Braun said.
Rep. Joanne Osborne, R-Goodyear, had to wait while what she called a “glitchy” system cycled through the bill information she needed to conduct a recent health and Human Services Committee hearing.
In other hearings, chairs have had to make people who want to testify in person fill out paper slips since they can’t access their names for the record on the computer system.
