STAND. COM. REP. NO.  566-22

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2022

 

RE:   H.B. No. 1897

      H.D. 1

 

 

 

 

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Government Reform, to which was referred H.B. No. 1897 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE SUNSHINE LAW,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to strengthen the State's Sunshine Law by:

 

     (1)  Requiring all boards subject to the Sunshine Law to livestream meetings and archive and make the recordings of meetings available online;

 

     (2)  Requiring a board to identify each item on its meeting agenda as an item for action or an item for discussion and allow for oral testimony after each agenda item;

 

     (3)  Amending the deadlines and other requirements for the posting or availability of board meeting minutes and packets; and

 

     (4)  Requiring board meeting minutes and packets to be posted online.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Civil Beat Law Center for the Public Interest, Common Cause Hawaii, and four individuals.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaii Paroling Authority, Office of Information Practices, and one individual.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Hawaii Tourism Authority, Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii, and one individual.

 

     Your Committee finds that the people hold the ultimate decision-making power in a representative democracy, which can only be accomplished when governmental agencies, boards and commissions, and county councils allow for meaningful public input and collaborate with the public on policymaking and governance.  Your Committee further finds that a robust sunshine law is necessary to opening up governmental processes to public scrutiny and participation to achieve the ideals of a representative democracy.  This measure will strengthen the Sunshine Law to provide the public with additional oversight of governmental agencies, boards and commissions, and county councils.

 

     Your Committee notes that given the existence of cloud platform technology and other similar technologies that can be used to archive recordings of livestreamed meetings, the capacity and processing of recordings should not be an issue in archiving the recorded meetings.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by changing its effective date to July 1, 2112, to encourage further discussion.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Government Reform that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1897, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1897, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.

 

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Government Reform,

 

 

 

____________________________

ANGUS L.K. McKELVEY, Chair