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Committee debates adding video to committee streams; vendor add‑on would cost under $50,000 per year
Summary
Legislative staff proposed enabling video streaming for committee rooms using the existing audio vendor as an add‑on; the vendor would handle storage and streaming for all 14 rooms, estimated under $50,000 per year, but members raised concerns about technology reliability and budget priorities.
Staff from Legislative Council Staff presented an option to enable video streaming for committee rooms by activating a vendor add‑on to the existing audio streaming service. Manish Jahni of Legislative Council Staff said the vendor would store and stream the video and the infrastructure is already in place; the change would be an enabled add‑on rather than a full rebuild.
"It's an add on to what we currently pay as a service," Manish Jahni said, describing how the existing audio streaming vendor would provide video and elastic storage. Presenters said cameras already exist in committee rooms and the vendor add‑on would enable a single, fixed shot for streaming rather than producing multi‑camera, C‑span-style coverage.
Staff reported the annual added cost is "under $50,000 per year for all 14 rooms." Officials emphasized the vendor would take care of storage and streaming capacity and that the solution does not add production staff; the streamed video would be a single camera view rather than a multi‑shot production. Staff also said recordings are retained and backup procedures exist so audio can be posted if a live stream fails.
Members supported the transparency benefits of video but raised reliability and budget concerns. One member said past outages left the floor without audio for an extended period and expressed caution about adding a service that could create an expectation of video when reliability issues occur. Others noted the public has requested video and suggested the branch's cash fund could be an appropriate funding source if the committee decided to proceed.
No vote was taken at the meeting; members asked staff to provide additional cost details, clarify first‑year costs and explain options for scaled implementation or funding sources.
Why it matters
Video streaming would increase transparency by allowing the public to see committee meetings, but it creates new recurring costs and potential expectations about reliability and production quality. The committee must weigh public demand against current budget constraints and technical reliability concerns.
What’s next
Staff will provide detailed cost information, any required one‑time enablement fees, and options for phased implementation or funding sources for committee consideration.
