At this roundtable, you, representing X, will present X's proposal for action in upcoming legislative sessions. Public Hearing Open hearings are held by government to deliberate publicly. In hearings, elected representatives can talk freely with each other, with experts, and with members of the public for deliberative purposes. This kind of free discussion on ranging topics pertinent to issues differs from floor debate prior to voting. There, only elected representatives debate and only about a specific bill or action.
Hearings are also important for the public record of governance.
When courts must adjudicate the meaning of a law, hearing records help with discerning the law's intent because they convey discussion about issues that motivated the passing of a law. Hearings may be held by either the executive branch or the legislature. Some hearings are required by 'sunshine' laws that mandate public access to information about government operations. In addition to 'sunshine' purposes of communicating governance, hearings usually serve many jurisdictional and political purposes. Always, a lot is going on in any hearing.