Report Title:

Public Agency Meetings

 

Description:

Provides that committees that provide planning policy advice concerning communities facilities and improvements are subject to public meeting requirements.

 

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

1487

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to public agency meetings and records.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the mayor of the city and county of Honolulu created community-based visioning teams to act as advisory boards in planning the future of their communities and neighborhoods. The mayor requested the visioning teams to provide advice and policy input on improvements and facilities for their respective communities. Significantly, visioning teams were requested by the mayor and executive branch of the city and county to provide advice on expenditures of public funds in their communities and neighborhoods, and teams have been allocated approximately $2,000,000 each to spend or at least advise on spending with respect to their community projects.

The legislature further finds that the neighborhood boards' responsibility for community concerns is very similar to that of community visioning teams. Neighborhood boards, established by the Honolulu city charter, are advisory only and have no decision making capability. Neighborhood board meetings are subject to chapter 92, Hawaii Revised Statutes, also known as the "sunshine law", which requires advance public notice of meetings and that meetings to be open to the public. The mayor has stated that the objective of the "visioning process" is to get everyone in the community, not just elected officials, involved in the capital improvement project process. Because each visioning team acts not only in an advisory planning capacity, providing input to determine the future of their community, but also receives public funds to be expended on community projects and improvements, the legislature finds that the meetings of visioning teams should be governed by chapter 92, Hawaii Revised Statutes, even though visioning teams are not expressly created by statute or ordinance.

It is the purpose of this Act to provide that chapter 92, Hawaii Revised Statutes, applies to meeting of visioning teams and any other team, committee, entity, or board with similar responsibility, even where the team, committee, entity, or board is not created by constitution, statute, rule, or executive order.

SECTION 2. Section 92-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "board" to read as follows:

"(1) "Board" means any agency, board, commission, authority, or committee of the State or its political subdivisions which is created by constitution, statute, rule, or executive order, to have supervision, control, jurisdiction or advisory power over specific matters and which is required to conduct meetings and to take official actions. For the purposes of this part, a board includes any advisory planning committee or team created, even in the absence of a constitution, statute, rule or executive order, to provide policy input concerning spending of public funds and the future creation of facilities and improvements to be planned for communities."

SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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