a 1:;!'
"t
:' ,i
l, :lai ::'
a
I
Using --rr
HawAl'lb
Frcddom
6f lnforffiatldn
'
taw
Guide
A Step-by-Step
AnnDeepe,Koever
Beverly
Schoolof Communications
of Hawai'iat Mdnoa
University
to familiarize
studentsand residents
Thisguideis intended
Lawin
of the Freedomof lnformation
withthe importance
government
local
Hawai'iandwaysto requeststateand
recordshere,Thoseseekinglegaladviceand
shouldconsultan attorney.
interpretations
questions,
for thisguidemaybe
suggestions
Comments,
sentto the author:
BeverlyAnn DeepeKeever
Professor
Schoolof Communications
of Hawai'i
University
GeorgeHall331
Honolulu,Hawai'i96822-2217
by phoneat (808)956-3781,
Or she maybe contacted
by fax at (808)956-5396or by e-mailat
bkeever@hawaii.edu.
thecreationof thisguideis the layoutand
Makingpossible
UH Centerof lnstructional
designworkof MarkNakamura,
sharedby MichaelLittleof the
Support,andthe expertise
the
Practices.She appreciates
stateOfficeof Information
of both.
valuableassistance
Servingas a modelfor this bookletis Usingthe Freedomof
lnformatronAct: A Step-by-StepGuide,written by Allan
RobertAdler,who describesthe federalstatute.
ThisHawai'iguidewas revisedOctober9, 2003,andwas
in UH journalism
currentas of then. Besidesdistribution
classes,hardcopyversionsof this bookletare availablefor
and in the PublicAccess
or mediaorganizations
community
Room,Room401,StateCapitol.
onlineon the websiteof the Public
It is alsoavailable
http://www.hawaii.gov/lrb/par/pub/foi.pdf
b/foi.pdf
AccessRoom: www.state.hi.us/oip/lrb/par/pu
2003by BeverlyAnn DeepeKeever
Copyright
reproduction
for commercial
All rightsreserved
Table of Gontents
t
lntroduction
Office of Information Practices'
WebSit(B
....r.
t.. r r r r r r r rr r r. r r. r r r I t r t t t I r t r t. I r r r t r r ! ! r r r
4
Basic Questions and Answers About
Hawai'i's Freedom of Information Law.. 7
7
Law [FOl] important?..................
Why is the Freedomof Information
I
Who can make a request?
8
What partof governmentis coveredby Hawai'i'sFOI Law?...............
'Unambiguously'
. 9
Disclosable
GovernmentRecordsthat are
10
What kindsof lnformationcan be obtained?
10
How quicklywill the agency respond?
10
On what groundscan an agency deny a request?
t l
requirement
......................
to the open-records
Exemptions
privacy
12
Exemption1: Clearlyunwarrantedinvasionof personal
............1 4
inlormation
Examplesof significant-privacy-interest
Examplesof lrustrationof legitimategovernmentfunction.. 1 6
17
action
Exemption2: Judicialor quasi-judicial
Exemption3: Frustrationof legitimategovernmentfunction..... 1 7
Exemption4: Protectedfrom disclosureby law or court order.. 1 7
18
Exemption5: Relatingto the legislature
19
the Requestr..'rrr.rrrrrrrr.rrrrr.rrr.rr
Making
.........19
the properagency
Step1: ldentifying
........20
the desiredrecord
Step2: Specifying
20
...................
the agency
Step3: Contacting
Appealing Agency Denial of Access ..'. 22
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2. 2. . .
o a c i r c u ict o u r t. . . . . . . . .
O p t i o n1 : A p p e a l i nt g
23
Practices
......,.............
to Officeof lnformation
Option2: Appealing
Eying the Records Report System ....... 25
Appendixes
30
records....................
of personal
A: A noteon Partlll - Disclosure
........
31
accessto a record
B: Formrequesting
33
records.............
accessto government
C: Sampleletterrequesting
...........
D :O p i n i o lne t t esr u m m a r i eosn O I P ' sw e b s i t e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3. 4
UsingHawai'i's
Freedom
of Information
Law
Step
ProPerAsencY
1 . lff#'',?,the
Step
2.
Desired
Hecord
|o5:'g,the
Step 3.
Contactthe Agency
(page20;sampleformand letter
areon pages31-33)
Record(s)received
Record(s)denied
Appealto OIP
Appealto CircuitGourt
(page23-24)
(pages22)
Appealto CircuitCourt
(page24)
Using Hawai'i's
Freedom of lnformation Law
A Step-by-Step
Guide
lntroduction
established
lawgenerally
Hawai'i's
Freedomof Information
from moststate
the rightof the publicto obtaininformation
agencies.
andlocalgovernment
Legislature
set up specific
Underthislaw,Hawai'i's
procedures
throughwhicha memberof the publicwhethera citizenor not- can exercisehis or her rightto
gainaccessto particularagencyrecords.The Guidealso
providesextensivefootnotesfor researchers
seekingthe
legislative
historyof this law or otherauthoritative
documentation.
recordsin Hawai'iare
All stateand localgovernment
public
unlessthe stateor local
considered
opento the
agencycan justifysecrecy.
This Step-by-StepGurdeis intendedto serve as a
generalintroduction
in knowing
for the publicinterested
records.
howto accessstateor city/county
Thislaw containsfourparts:
and definitions;
I Part I - generalprovisions
- the releaseof
I Part ll - Freedomof lnformation
any type of governmentrecordto the public;
of PersonalRecords- the
I Partlll - Disclosure
aboutwhomthe information
releaseto the individual
was collectedand is maintained;
Practices- the
I Part lV - the Officeof Information
the law.
stateagencycreatedto administer
documents
in obtaining
interested
Individuals
should
of government
the generalactivities
concerning
part
maketheirrequestunderthe Freedomof Information
seekingaccessto
of the law Partll. lndividuals
pertaining
to
themselves
government
shouldmake
records
of PersonalRecordsparta requestunderthe Disclosure
Partlll - as wellas underPartll.
Hawai'i's
lawwasenactedin 1988andwentintoeffect
on July1, 1989.Whenenacted,
it was uniqueamongstate
governments
for:
I establishing
theOfficeof Information
(OlP)
Practices
as a centralized
officeto provideuniformlegal
interpretations
for all stateandcity/county
governments
andthusto streamline
theirfunctions;
a
few otherstateshavesincefollowedHawai'i'smodel;
I establishing
a RecordsReportSystem(RRS)so as to
enhancegovernment
efficiency
andto preventsecret
government
record-keeping
groups
on individuals,
andcorporations likethatoccurring
to Japanese
Americancitizensand residents
in Hawai'iin Worldll:
see pages25-29.
In addition,
Hawai'iis amongthe few statesto haveall
stateandcountyexecutive,
legislative
andjudicialbranches
of government
included
underits FOIlaw. lts law also
coversthe recordsof any "corporation
or other
establishment
owned,operated,
or managedby or on
behalfof thisStateor anycounty."Thisprovisionmightbe
liberally
constructed
to coverthe non-profit
University
of
Hawai'iFoundation.
In contrast,
the federalFOIcovers
onlyexecutive-branch
records.
Specificdetailsaboutaccessing
government
information
are discussed
in administrative
rules.Theserules:
procedures
1. establish
for processing
requestsfor
governmentrecords;
2. set forthfeesthatagenciesmay- but neednotcharge.The permissable
feesfor searching
for
recordsare $2.50per 15 minutesfor fractionthereof
and for reviewing
andsegregating
recordsare $5
per 15 minutesor f ractionthereof
. Butthe first$30
in feesis waived.
3. spellsout the availability
of a fee waiverthatis in the
publicinterest.
Theserulesimplement
onlyPartll - the Freedomof
lnformationpart of Chapter92F of the HawarT
Reursed
Statutes.
No specialexpertise
is neededto requestaccessto
Hawai'i'sgovernment
records.UsingHawai'i'slaw is as
simpleas makingan informalrequestto the agencyby
2
telephone
or makinga formalrequestto it in writing.A
on page33 of thisguide.Or you
sampleletteris included
to
the
agencythe modelformthatis
mayfillout andmail
on pages31-32.Thisformis alsoavailable
included
online.
yourrequest,however,you maywant
Beforebeginning
on OIP'swebsite:
thevaluablematerials
to research
page.
Becausefeesmaybe
seenext
www.state.hi.us/oip;
moneyas wellas time
chargedin somecircumstances,
may be savedby doingsomeadvanceresearch.Or you
OIPat 586-1400
maymakean initialqueryby telephoning
"attorney
the
day"during
of
and askingfor its designated
regularbusinesshours.
As of July1, 2003,OIPbeganto limitto fivethe number
open
and requestsfor assistance
investigations
of opinions,
at anyonetimeto eachmemberof the public,but notto the
newsmedia.l
1www.state.hi.us/oip/
multiple_requestjolicy.pdf
2Hrw.Rev.Srrr. $ 92F-,|7(Supp.2002).
sanctions
The lawimposescriminalmisdemeanor
"false
pretense,
uses
againsta personwho intentionally
bribery,or theft"to gainaccessto or obtaina copyof a
information.2
government
recordor to confidential
3
Office of Information Practices'
Website: www,state.hi,us/oip
m*yl
Laws / Rules /
Opifiions
Forms
ry*
Opsnline/
_i-:19"y_
Repons
RelateclLink6
frwnat'swew
I'
Aloha!
Thsrk yq,l tor vrsftng th€
Otlss ol lnlomation PracUces
('orr).
The OIP ad*r&tsr3 llaura s op€fi
t*otds law; lhs Unlform lrdonnation
Practcss Aat {iltodfisd), chapl*r 9QF,
Hawal Flavb€d S:tatutes('UIPA').
%^
;ffi
W
TIta OIP aho dvhes, ard accepts corgahls, regnrdnrg
PsIt I sf cfieilef 92. Harrel Rsvbsd Slahrtc6 {opst
maetirgs or'Srnshl*
Lauf).
Contact tlo OIP
BHawagootr Horno | *Hawaikror Tanns ol Use I eHawalGor Prfuxv Fciliv
Cqt @i @ffiz State of Hawa#sHarvaiGlorr . Al t!fiE rcserysd.
someof thewidearrayof resources
on OIP's
Searching
journalists
websitedescribed
could
help
and
the
below
publicto framemoreprecisely
theirrequestfor accessing
government
recordsin Hawaiiand to learnaboutthese
kindsof issueselsewhere.
cornerof this
ehawaiigov in the upperleft-hand
websitelinksto the homepageof Hawaii'sstate
government.
State Online Services providesonlinelinksto a
longlistof topics.Theseinclude(1) businessservices
e-filingfor taxes,calendar
suchas businessnameservices,
jurypoolinformation,
and (2)
meetingannouncements,
citizenservicessuchas business& licensecomplaints
historysearch,Geographic
Information
Systems(GlS)
huntinglicenses,
vital
maps,airportflightinformation,
recordsordering.
Hawaii Information Link lndex providesonline
linksto an alphabetical,
detailedlistingof agenciesand
4
and adultsservices,
rangingfromaccounting
seryices,
the statebudget,birth/death/
throughbid contracts,
abuses,education,
to domestic
certificates,
marriage
professional
licenses
health,
food
stamps,
environment,
realestate,
maps,motorvehicles,
andprograms,
and
voter
information
abuse,taxes,TV stations,
substance
workers'compensation.
Laws/Bules/Opinions,at the top of the left-hand
panel,provides
textof Hawaii'sstatuteson
an unofficial
publicrecordsandsomeof thestatuteon publicmeetings,
Law."The officialversionof thisonline
or the"Sunshine
plus
to casesandattorney
valuable
annotations
material
generalopinionsmaybe foundin Chapters92 and92F in
RevisedStatutes(H.R.S.)
the boundvolumesof the HawarT
in campusandstatelibraries.
Thewebsitealsoprovidesthe fulltextof OIP's
for,and
rulesand an indexto, summaries
administrative
textof the 262 opinionlettersthatOIP has issuedto
Hawaii'sFOIfrom 1989to Sept.11, 2003;brief
interpret
in
of manyof these262 are reproduced
summaries
AppendixD on pages34-35.The indexto the opinion
lettersmaybe accessedby year,by opinionletternumber
or via keywordsearching.
set
Anothervaluableprintedresourceis the unofficial
tilled Mbhre's HawarTReuisedStatutesAnnotate{ (HRSA)
production
availablein somelaw
a Lexis-Publishing
libraries.lt is alsoon the lnternetbut for a fee. Thisset
listseachof OIP'sopinionlettersunderthe sectionof the
statuteto whichit relates.Forexample,through2OO2
HRSAlistsmorethan90 examplesof recordsin whichOIP
hasissuedopinionlettersrelatingto FOI'sfiveexemptions
the decision.
andprovidesa sentenceor two describing
to OIP'sopinionletters.
H.R.S.volumesomitannotations
Forms providesformsfor the publicor agencystaffers
record,replyingto
accessto a government
for requesting
public-meeting-notice
providing
checklist
a
thatrequestand
Law.
fortheSunshine
Openline/Guidance provideslinksto OIP'smonthly
titledOpenlne,whichannouncesthe latest
newsletter
to agenciesor
in opinionletters,advisories
decisions
changesin policy.lts Guidancesectiongivesfulltextof its
to agencieson suchissuesas handling
advisories
personnel
recordsor turningovertheir recordsto the
Auditor.
Legislative
5
Reports linksto annualreportsof OIPto the
Legislature
from2000,2001and 2002,to its reportto the
Legislature
on commercial
useof personalinformation,
to a
reportto the Legislature
on the reportof the Medical
PrivacyTaskForceandto currentinformation
on the
RecordsReportSystem(RRS);see pages25-29.
Belated Links is especially
valuablefor conducting
comparative
research.lt provideslinksto public-access
and/orprivacyagencies
in otherU.S.states,Canada,some
provinces,
Canadian
Australia,
HongKong,lreland,Mexico,
NewZealand,UnitedKingdom.lt alsolinksto nongovernment
groupslikethe Electronic
Privacylnformation
Center,PrivacyRightsClearinghouse
andAccessReports.
Clickingon theAccess Reports linkprovides
additional
linksto severalU.S.Department
of Justice
websites,
the Reporters
Committee
for Freedomof Press,
University
of MissouriFOICenter,Freedomof Information
Resources,
National
Security
Archive,Nader-inspired
PublicCitizenLitigation
Group,AmericanSocietyof Access
Professionals,
scientists-sponsored
Secrecyand
Government
Project,the Transactional
RecordsAccess
Clearinghouse,
the JamesMadisonProjectandthe FBI
Electronic
PublicReadingRoom,withfileson famous
individuals
andhistorical
eventspreviously
disclosed
under
FOIA. lt alsolinksto otherstatesites.
A useful,recentadditionto Access Beports is its
onlinenoticeand salestor LitrgatlonUnderthe Federal
OpenGovernmentLaws($+01.Access Reports also
describesand linksto anothervolumetitledGettingand
Protectng CompetitiveBusn ess lnformatlon ($SS1.
Search is underconstruction
as of Oct.9,2003.
What's New containslatestannouncements.
6
Basic Questions and Answers about
Hawai'i's Freedom of lnformation Law
e"Jll?'lgJif[Xl3[?
ng
Q : whyis usi
- A=l:nJ?Jli":"fJ:,'ii3
the Freedomof #:'ffi".l'"13t'i1ifi:i
;:"l,H,Tig:i,
ff:ilirt:8?
law
lnformation
important?
the exactsalariesof governmentofficials,whichpolice
for disciplinary
actions,who
officerswererecommended
the
HulaMae mortgages,
hadobtainedstate-backed
jobs andthe resumeof
for government
namesof applicants
headin the faceof criticismthat he was
a citydepartment
for the position.a
unqualified
lawis neededto ensure
Thus,the Freedomof lnformation
protected.
TheLegislature
thatthepublicinterestis being
the 1989lawwas basedon threeprinciples:
declared
the peoplearevestedwiththe
1. In a democracy,
power.
decision-making
ultimate
agenciesexistto aidthe peoplein the
2. Government
formation
andconductof publicpolicy.
processes
to public
3. Openingup the government
participation
is
the
only
viable
and
scrutinyand
methodof protectingthe public'sinterest.
reasonable
the Legislature
then
on thesethreeprinciples,
Building
the 1989law:
declaredtwo policiesthat over-arched
and
1. lt is the policyof thisStatethatthe formation
policy-the
public
discussions,
conductof
and actionof government
decisions,
deliberations,
as openlyas possible.
agencies-shallbe conducted
government
businessas
2. The policyof conducting
openlyas possiblemustbe temperedby the
of the rightof the peopleto privacyas
recognition
containedin the two sectionsof ArticleI of the State
Constitution.
the
and declaredpolicies,
Basedon theseprinciples
purposes
thenmandatedthatthe underlying
Legislature
lawincluded:
and policiesof the Freedomof lnformation
3Ouotedby Allison Lynde in Repoft ol the
Governor's Committee on Pub/ic Records
and Pnuacy, Vol. I at 47 (December
1987).
o/d.
in disclosure;
the publicinterest
1. Promoting
governmental
througha
accountability
2. Enhancing
generalpolicyof accessto governmentrecords;
7
privacyinterestandthe
the individual
3. Balancing
accessunlessit
publicaccessinterest,
allowing
invasionof
a clearlyunwarranted
wouldconstitute
personalprivacy.
The 1989lawalsomakesstateandlocalagencies
to the publicin otherwaysfor information
accountable
policies
and practices.Whilethe lawdoesnot
disclosure
records,it
grantan absoluterightto examinegovernment
providesa rightto requestrecordsandto receivea
responseto the request.No reasonneedsto be givenwhy
the recordis beingsought.lf a requestedrecordcannotbe
are entitledto a reasonfor the denial.
requesters
released,
havea rightto appealthe denialand,if
And requesters
it in court.Thus,the maintenance
to challenge
necessary,
cannotbe
of stateand localinformation
and disclosure
actions.
and unreviewable
by arbitrary
controlled
sHew.Rev.Snr. $ 92F-18(b),(c) (Supp.
1990).
Q: whocan
make a fequest?
recordkeeping
to preventsecretgovernment
In addition,
and groups-suchas occurredpriorto the
on individuals
Japanese
of Hawai'i's
seizureand round-up
warrant-less
citizensand residentaliensduringWorldWar llAmerican
recordsmust
lawmakersrequiredthat stateand city/county
be compiledin a reportthatis madepublic.sThishuge
calledthe RecordsReportSystem,is unique
directory,
on
beginning
lt is discussed
amongstategovernments.
page25 of this booklet.
!Hi'"",."
iHi$?'.:"":il#:l:'3
ilf,
l,,fl":i
A
:
"'
andtocorporations.
nonresident,
- The law applies to recordsheld by a broad range of
part
what
i governmentalunitsin Hawai'i. Those unitsare
Q:
whichincludesboththe
of "agency"
by a definition
of governmentcovered
reads:
The
definition
andthe Judiciary.
Legislature
is coveredby
Hawai'i's
of
Freedom
law?
lnformation
"Agency"means any unit of governmentin this State,any
county,or any combinationof counties;department;institution;
board;commission;district;council;bureau;office;governing
authority;other instrumentalityof state or county government;
or corporationor other establishmentowned, operated,or
managedby or on behalf of this State or any county,but does
functionsol the court of this
not includethe nonadministrative
State.6
6Hrw.Rev.Srrr. $ 92F-3(Supp.1990).
I
The law appliesto recordsheldby stateand local
government
agenciesin the executivebranch,the city/
of the statefunctions
the administrative
countycouncils,
widecourtsandto all recordsof the stateLegislature
underthe law.
exempted
exceptthosespecifically
to
of counties,
The lawalsoappliesto anyassociation
government,"
to
any
"instrumentality
or
county
of
state
any
or
"corporation
owned,operated,
or otherestablishment
managedby or on behalfof thisStateor anycounty."7
The law doesnotapplyto the nonadministrative
of the Judiciary.Theseareexcludedso as "to
functions
preservethe currentpracticeof grantingbroadaccessto
The recordsof the
the recordsof courtproceedings.
by thisbillare the
whichwillbe affected
Judiciary
records'"8
administrative
7/d
sConlerenceCommitteeR
,**33iir)lSiuutr_
No.2002,
onH.B.
erg(rgae).
The law also does not applyto recordsheld by the U.S.
governmentor thoseheldby privatecompaniesor individuals.
thatAre
Records
Government
'Unambiguously'
Disclosable
Thislistincludes:
ofgeneral
statements
applicability,
rulesofgeneral
substantive
1. Rulesofprocedure,
bytheagency;
adopted
applicability
policy,
ofgeneral
andinterpretations
ofcases;
intheadjudication
made
andorders
2. Finalopinions
in
contained
required
bylawtobepublic,information
meetings
ofallagency
3. Minutes
opento
ofa proceeding
orsummary
report
minutes,
froma transcript,
orcompiled
the
ofinforming
forthepurpose
andmaintained
andinformation
collected
thepublic
public;
general
transfer
andlienrecords;
4. Landownership,
granted
byanagency
licenses
andpermits
holding
ofpersons
5. Rosters
tests;
of environmental
6. Results
an
concerning
information
aswellasdirectory
andcommutations,
7. Pardons
presence
facility;
atanycorrectional
individual's
purchasing
certified
government
andbidresults,
concerning
8. Muchinformation
name,
hiresandconsultants,
payroll
contract
works
contracts,
record
onpublic
and
fundsfroma loanprogram,
borrowing
andoccupation
ofanyperson
address,
ofsome-but
thecompensation
including
employees,
ongovernment
theinformation
notall<f them.
I
the government
recordsareto be opento public
Q: whatktnds!{rA . All
inspection,
copying,
duplicating
duringbusiness
hou
rs-with
certain
exceptions.s
of information
canbe obtatned?Governmentrecordmeans
...information
maintained
by an agencyin written,auditory,
visual,electronic,
or otherphysical
form.10
Thus,a requester
mayseeka printedor typed
document,
taperecording,
map,computerprintout,
computer
tapeor a similaritem.Theformin whicha record
is maintained
by an agencydoesnot affectits availability.
The law generally
provides
thata requestermayaskfor
recordsratherthaninformation.This meansthat an
agencyis required
to lookonlyfor an existingrecordor
documentin response
to a request.An agencyis not
required
to collectinformation
it doesnot have. Normust
an agencydo researchor analyzedatafor a requester.
And an agencyis not obligedto createa new recordthat
summarizes
or compilesits holdings.
eHew.Rev.Snr. g 92F-11 (Supp.1990).
1oHew.
REv.Srar. g 92F-3 (Supp.1990).
rlConferenceCommitteeReport112-88
on H.B. No.2002, HouseJournal,at817819 (1988);see listingin Haw.Rev.Smr.
$ 92F (Supp.1990).
Thisdefinition
coversmuchof the information
collected
by Hawai'i's
stateand localgovernments
from individuals
andbusinesses.Forexample,
the Legislature
declared
"unambiguously
somerecordsas
requiring
disclosure,"
evenif doingso involvedan invasionof personalprivacyor
a frustration
government
of legitimate
purpose.ll(Seebox
page
on
9.)
A , The law doesnotspecifythe timelimitwithinwhich
quickly
How
Q:
Flr the agencymustrespondto the request.Buta time
of 10 daysis includedin administrative
rulesor of
willtheagency limit
longerperiodsfor exceptional
cases.
respond?
Q: Onwhat
groundscanan
agencydeny
a request?
/0
disclosure
of
, AlthoughHawai'i'slawencourages
r government
records,it alsorecognizes
the legitimate
needto restrictdisclosure
of someinformation.
A requestto an agencyfor publicaccessto a record
maybe deniedif it fallswithinany of five exemptions
(or
exceptions)
to the generalrulerequiringdisclosure
of all
government
records.(Seebox,oppositepage.)
however,are not to be usedto close
Theseexemptions,
to the publicbeforemid-1988,
recordsthatwereavailable
indicated.l2
the Legislature
fivegeneral
of the fiveexemptions,
Beforediscussion
pointsneedto be made.
lzOonference
CommiteeReport112-88
on H.B. 2OO2,House Journalat 817-819
(1988). This importantPassageon 'The
exceptionsto publicaccess reads:
recoids which will not be requiredto be
disclosedunderSection-13 are records
whichare currentlyunavailable.lt is not
the intentof the Legislaturethat this
section be used to close currently
availablerecords,even though these
recordsmioht fit within one of the
categoriesif this section."
1. The statutedoesnotprohbitthe releasingof records
in the exemptedcategories.lnstead,the statute
of recordsfalling
simplypermitsthewithholding
underthefiveProvisions.
an
Putanotherway,undertheseexemptions,
agencymaywithholdthe exemptedrecord.But it is
to do so.
notalwaysrequired
tothe
Exemptions
Requirement
Open-Records
records
tothepublic:
to release
arenotrequired
Agencies
privacy"l3
or
ofpersonal
invasion
"aclearly
unwarranted
would
constitute
1. lf disclosure
government
function"l4
or
frustration
ofa legitimate
would
cause'lhe
2. lfdisclosure
anorderofanystateor
law,including
orfederal
by"state
isprotected
3. lf disclosure
or
court"
federal
orquasi'judicial
pertain
ofanyjudicial
ordefense
to'lheprosecution
4. lftherecords
thatsuch
totheextent
isormaybea party,
oranycounty
towhichtheState
action
or
notbediscoverable"l5
would
records
including
committees
papers
oflegislative
anddraftworking
are"inchoate
S. lf records
ortranrecords
workproduct;
reports;
committee
worksheets
andunfiled
budget
byrules
whichareclosed
ofthelegislature
committee
ofaninvestigating
scripts
of thelegislafilesofmembers
pursuant
21-4andthepersonal
to section
adopted
ture.'16
isnolrequiredlo
is,anagency
arepermissive-that
theserestrictions
Buteven
donot
theseprovisions
Conversely,
falling
under
theseprovisions,
records
disclose
therecords.
prohibitthe
fromreleasing
agency
13Hrw.
Rev.Sur. $ 92F-13(1)(Supp.1990).
laHnw.REv.Srm. $ 92F-13(3)(Supp. 1990).
1sHrw.REv.Srar. $ 92F-13(2)(Supp. 1990).
16Hrw.REv.Srnr. $ 92F-'13(5)
(Supp. 1990).
//
- whichis
Forexample,
a budgetworksheet
specifically
listedas an exemptedrecord- couldbe
disclosed
perhapsbecauseno
by the Legislature,
harmwouldresultfromdisclosure
or becausesome
goodmightresult.
2. Whena recordcontainssomeinformation
that
qualifies
as exempt,the entirerecordis not
necessarily
exempt.The lawspecifically
allowsfor
the"segregating
of disclosable
records."17
Thus,afterdeletionof the non-disclosable
portions,
the agencymuststillprovidethe record.
Thisis a veryimportant
requirement
becauseit
prevents
an agencyfromwithholding
an entire
document
simplybecauseone lineor onepageis
exempt.
3. Theagencycannotdenyrecordsbecauseof the
identityof the requester- nor needthe requester
givehisor hername.
4.Theagencycannotdenymostrecordsit controls
becauseof the requester's
purposein seekingthe
information.
Butexplaining
the purposevoluntarily
maybenefitthe requester.
5. The agencymay not denyaccessto recordsit
controlsbecausethe information
is available
elsewhere
froma nonpublic
source.
- or exceptions
- to the generalrule
Thefiveexemptions
thatall government
recordsare accessible
to the publicare
nowdiscussedas they relateto the Freedomof Information
'17Hrw.Rev.Srar.ge2F-42(i3)(supp.iseo).
section in Part ll of Hawai'i's law.
EXemptiOn
I
Thisfirstexemption
permits
thewithholdins
of
... governmentrecordswhich, if disclosed,would constitutea
clearlyunwarrantedinvasionof personalprivacy.ls
Clearly
Thisexemption
requiresagenciesto strikea balance
Unwarrantedbetween
an individual's
rightof privacyandthe public's
Invasion
rightto know. But,sinceonlya clearlyunwarranted
invasionof privacyis a basisfor withholding,
thereis in this
of Personal exemption
a perceptible
tilt in favorof disclosure.
Privacy
It is thisexemption
that has createdmuchnewsin
18Haw.
Bev.Srrr. $ 92F-13(1)(Supp.1990).
/2
recentyearswhenKa Leo O Hawaifpublishedthe names
of severalprofessors
who were foundto haveviolatedthe
andthen
of Hawai'ipolicyon sexualharassment
University
of additional
thefacultyunionsuedto preventpublication
names.
policeofficersand other
Later,the unionsrepresenting
government
employeeswentto courtandto the state
of their
of the identities
to blockdisclosure
Legislature
or firedfor
who hadbeensuspended
members
uct.
miscond
employment-related
decidedthatthe identityof a
In '1995the Legislature
maybe disclosedto
countypoliceofficerwho is terminated
privacyinterestof
significant
the
the public,thusoverriding
his or
Butfor an officerwho is suspended,
the individual.le
his or
of
disclosure
overrides
privacy
interest
hersignificant
to the public,thuskeepingthatinformation
heridentity
eachcountypolicechief
secret.The measurealsorequires
that
to submitan annualreportto the legislature
indicates
police
officer
misconduct,
of
incidents
summarizes
actionimposed,andthe numberof officers
the disciplinary
useof force,
for malicious
or discharged
suspended
drugabuse,andcowardice.2o
of prisoners,
mistreatment
In 1997,however,citinga HawaiiSupremeCourt
of policeofficers
OIP heldthatthe identifies
decision,
of
ldentifies
weredisclosable.2l
for misconduct
suspended
or discharged
employeessuspended
othergovernment
about
and information
misconduct
becauseof work-related
underthe
had alreadybeendisclosable
theirmisconduct
statute.22
Onepurposein passingthe law,the Legislature
is that
declared,
businessas openlyas
...the policyof conductinggovernment
of the rightol the
possiblemustbe temperedby a recognition
peopleto privacy,as embodiedin section6 andsection7 of
of the Stateof Hawai'i.23
ArticleI of the Constitution
reads:
Section7 of ArticleI of the Constitution
, s sB
. ,1 7 1s, . D . 1 ,H .D .1 ,C .D . 1 ,
Report81.
Committee
Conference
nld
2lOlPOoinionLetterNo. 97-1.
zHnw. Rev.Srer.5 92F-14(Supp.1992).
23Haw.
Rev.Srer. 5 92F-2(Supp.1990).
2aHrw.Cor.rst.,
Art. 1, 57.
The rightol the people to be secure in their persons,houses,
papersand effects against unreasonablesearches,seizures
and invasionsof privacy shall not be violated;and no warrant
shall issue but upon probable cause, supportedby oath or
affirmation,and particularlydescribing the placeto be
searchedand the persons or things to be seizedor the
communicationssought to be intercepted.24
Section6 of ArticleI reads:
The rightof the people to privacy is recognizedand shall not
be infringedwithout the showing of a compellingstate interest.
/3
The legislatureshall take affirmativestepsto implementthis
rioht."2s-
f"nirr".tion's privacy-related
aspects,as proposedby
the 1978Constitutional
Convention,
focusedon government
authority
in criminalcasesthatinvolved
wiretapping
and
electron
ic surveiIlance.
I-heLegislature,
in passingthe lawin 1988,included
considerable
detailon thisexemption
in the statuteand in
committee
reports.
fhesedetailsprovidea four-point
slidingscalefor
measuring
the competinginterests,
although
the official
"balancing
language
employsthe morestandard
test"
metaphor.The slidingscale,as specified
in the Legislature's
language,
is:
6Hrw.corusr.,Arr.1,
s6.
privacyinterest
l. lf the individual's
is not "significant,"
a
scintilla
of publicinterestin disclosure
willprecludea
sconferencecommitreeReporrl.r2-88on
finding of a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal
3;?;H,
?i"?
:iY';:;!f;\l:i,?3?i51[r privacy.26
Examples
of Significant-Privacy-lnterest
Information
'1.Medical,
psychiatric
orpsychological
history,
diagnosis,
condition,
treatment
orevaluation;
2,Aninvestigation
intoa possible
violation
law;
of criminal
forsocial
3.Eligibility
services
orwelfare
benefits;
personnel
4.Anagency's
file,orapplications,
nominations,
recommendations
orproposals
forpublic
position;
employment
orappointment
toa government
nongovernmental
"except
5.Anindividual's
employment
history
asnecessary
todemongovernment
position;
strate
compliance
withrequirements
fora particular
finances,
6."Anindividual's
income,
liabilities,
assets,
networth,
bankbalances,
financial
history
oractivities,
orcredit
worthiness;
7.Aninquiry
intofitness
"therecord
forgranting
orretaining
a license,
except
ofany
proceeding
resulting
inthediscipline
ofa licensee
andthegrounds
fordiscipline"
and
"therecord
ofcomplaints
including
alldispositions;"
8.A personal
recommendation
orevaluation.
/4
recordshallnotconstitute
of a government
2. Disclosure
of personalprivacyif
invasion
a clearlyunwarranted
the privacy
outweighs
the publicinterestin disclosure
interestof the individual.2T
also
3. Shouldany disputearise,the Legislature
the following
as "a clearlegislative
included
expressionof intent"28:
privacyinterestis found,the privacy
Oncea significant
in
the publicinterest
against
interest
willbe balanced
disclosure.2s
includedin the
the Legislature
4. Morespecifically,
in whichthe
of information
statutea listof "examples
(See
privacyinterest."3o
individualhasa significant
box on previouspage.)
examplesis a growing
the Legislature's
Supplementing
applyingthis
numberof OIP opinionsthatare regularly
as home
of information
to suchcategories
exemption
of statusor
regardless
telephone
numbersof individuals
occupation.
whethera
if an agencyis unableto determine
Moreover,
businessor
telephone
numberappliesto an individual's
residence,
thenthe agencyis to withholdthatinformation
frompublicinspection.3l
Examplesof recordsthatOIPdecidedwereclosed
exemption
becauseof the significant-privacy-interest
graduateprogram;
to a university
includeapplications
in Ethics
identitiesof the subjectsand requesters
opinions;
a county'smailinglistof senior
Commission
numbersin a
andtelephone
the addresses
citizens;
database.32
computerized
27Haw.
Rev.Srer. $ 92F-14(Supp.1990).
aConlerenceCommitteeReoort112-BBon
H.B. No. 2002, HouseJoumalat 817-819
(1s88).
n/d.
oHrw. Rw. Srnr. 92F-14(b)(Supp.1990)
$
3tOlPOpinionLetterNo. 90-35 (December
17,1990).
32OlPOpinion LettersNos. 95-10, 96-2,
99-6, 93-16 respectively.
$Harold L. Nelsonand DwightL. Teeter,Jr
The Law ol Mass Communications at 167
(1s7B).
sOlP OpinionLetterNo. 97-2 (May 18,
1990).
swww.state.hi.us/oip/guidanceaud
itor.
pdf, accessed Oct. 9, 2003.
ln the past,the rightof privacygenerallyattachedonly
withthe deathof
to livinghumanbeingsand it disappeared
And OIP has
to courtdecisions.33
according
the individual,
of a deceasedformer
decidedthat the photograph
government
because"an
employeemustbe disclosed
privacyinterests
expireuponthe individual's
individual's
death."3a
Butthis notionmaybe changing.Federalrulesin 2001
beganto recognize"a privacyinterestin protectedhealth
death."35
followingan individual's
information
PersonalRecordsPartlll of the law- on Disclosing
the releaseof recordsonlyto individuals
alsoregulates
/5
aboutwhomthe recordspertain.Thesetwo Partsof the
law overlapto someextent,but thereis no inconsistency.
lndividuals
seekingrecordsaboutthemselves
shouldcite
bothlawswhenmakinga request.
Citingbothlawsensures
thatthe maximumamountof disclosable
information
willbe
released.Recordsthatcanbe deniedto an individual
underPartlll maynotnecessarily
be exemptunderthe
Freedomof Information
segmentin Partll. (Seepage30.)
Examples
of Frustration
of Legitimate
Government
Function
gavethefollowing
TheLegislature
examples
of records
thatneednotbedisclosed
if
disclosure
would
frustrate
government
a legitimate
function:
1.Those
forlawenforcement
purposes;
compiled
2.Those
usedtoadminister
anexamination
whichmight
compromise
fairness
thevalidity,
or
objectivity
oftheexamination;
3.Those
whichwould
raisethecostofgovernment
procurements
orgivea manifestly
unfair
proposing
advantage
toanypersons
toenterintoa contract
oragreement
withan
pertaining
agency,
including
information
tocollective
bargaining;
pertaining
4.Those
torealproperty
public
under
consideration
forfuture
acquisition;
5.Those
containing
administrative
ortechnical
information,
including
software,
operating
protocols
jeopardize
andemployee
manuals,
which,
if disclosed,
would
thesecurity
ofa
g system
record-keepin
;
proprietary
6.Those
containing
information,
suchasresearch
methods,
records
anddata,
programs
computer
andsoftware
andothertypesofinformation
manufactured
or marketedbypersons
underexclusive
legalright,owned
byanagency
or entrusted
to it;
7.Those
containing
tradesecrets
orconfidential
commercial
andfinancial
information;
8.Some
library,
archival
ormuseum
persons;and
material
contributed
byprivate
9.Those
expressly
madenondisclosable
orconfidential
under
stateorfederal
laworprotected
byjudicial
rule.36
sSenate Standing.Commi{eeReport No. 2580 on H. B. No. 2002, Senate
Journa/at 1093-1095;this section ol this report is
referencedin ConferenceCommitteeReport1t2-88 on H.B. No.2002 (1988).
/6
ption 2 If ;;"Tiliilt$fi:Ji,n*T;ii
i:l?Jll[':1::1Jff
ry
Fr
9
or'Judicialor
to the prosecution
or defense
Quasi-JudicialGovernmentrecordspertaining
judicialactionto whichthe Stateor any
ActionInvolving would
is or may;:il'$:
::311,'[.:?ilff
county
be a party,to the extentthatsuchrecords
notbediscoverable.3T
of any judicialor quasi-judicial
actionto
the
State
County
Of a
thisexemption
The Legislature
described
as selfexplanatory.38
37Hnw.
REv.Srrr. $ 92F-13(2)(Supp.1990).
sOonference
CommitteeReoort112-88on H.B.
No. 2002, HouseJoumalat 817-81I (1988).
EXgmptiOn
3
Frustralion
Leg
of
thattheraw
specifies
sharr
notrequire
open
:f;:l?:lo,,o"
Governmenr
records
thar,bytheirnature,
mustbeconfidential
itimate
therrustration
ora
iU'i,ffi'f""Ll"?:,,'T:'il1"#,ff.",'o
Government
l-
rulethatallrecords
Thethirdexception
to thegeneral
are
r'
(See
boxatleft.)
FUnCIIOn
Examples
of recordsthatOIP decidedwereclosed
becauseof the frustration-of-government-function
exemptionincludethe Departmentof Education's
releaseof
information
reports;
the
contained
in FBIidentification
person
identityof a
to the Department
complaining
of
sHnw.
(supp.
REv.
srer.ge2F-13(3)
1es0)'
*o's2-23'ss'7'
;r9%?J$L"Jl'|3;""
EXgmptiOn
4
protectbd
f rom
D i SC IOS U f e by
I
LaW
n
_
Of UOUru
Order
i
Healthabout allegedviolationsof state law; and the
videotapedconfessionof Grace lmura-Kotaniin a police
cellblockand her final statementmade before her suicide.m
Thefourth
to thegeneral
rulethatallrecords
exemption
are
:i:;:ff:1,,0"
thattheraw
sharr
notrequire
open
specifies
pursuant
to srare
Government
records
which,
orrederat
taw
includingan order of any state or {ederal court, are protected
fromdisctosure.al
The Legislaturedescribedthis exemptionas selfexplanatory.42
In 1992, this relatedprovisionwas added:
.Haw
Rev
rse')
Surge2F.13(+)(sup1
€ConferenceCommitteeReoort112-88on
",lll]j;.'jil;fl;il1jJ[";j"j",ffiifii|?:n"YJ::",,"".
agency to lose or be denied funding,services,or other
H.8.2002,
HouseJournal"-r'al)-81911gl'Bf
.
/7
€Hrw.REv.STAT.92F-4(Supp.2002).
$
EXemptiOn
5
assistance
fromthefederalgovernment,
compliance
withthat
provision
shallbe waivedbutonlyto theextentnecessary
to
protect
eligibility
forfederalfunding,
services,
or other
assistance.a3
Thefifthexemption
tothegeneral
rulethatallrecords
are
Relati
nstothe-ffi:il::fiJ.-"'ffH?::
Hll'"::il1nilffiiffil:,
thelawshall
Leg iSlatU fe
notrequire
disclosure
of:
Inchoate
anddraftworkingpapersof legislative
committees
including
budgetworksheets
and unliledcommitteereports;
workproduct;recordsor transcripts
of an investigating
committee
of the legislature
whichareclosedby rulesadopted
pursuant
to section21-4andthe personalfilesof membersof
the legislature.e
Section21-4retersto proceduresusedby investigating
€Hrw.Rev.Srnr.g e2F-13(5)
(Supp.
19so). COmmitteeS tO adOpt fUleS.
/8
Making the Request
information
underPartll, or the
Individuals
requesting
part,do so by askingto obtaina
Freedom
of Information
government
record.
recordson which
Foran overviewof manygovernment
pages
see
34-35for the
OIPhasalreadyissuedopinions,
summaryof opinionletterssince1989.
s!ep. 1
;j:ffi::"J,5:o""recordsis
lH'ff:"5J:ffiil1
ldentifying
government
that
records
ofrice
Thereisnocentrar
queries
maybest
eachagency,
requests.
Within
services
the
PfOpef
A rrnr-\,^\,
/1V(Jl luy
to the lowestlevelthatholds,compilesand
be dlrected
the record,suchas a branchwithina state
maintains
may
department.A copyof any writtencorrespondence
alsobe sentto the headof that departmentand to the
(OlP),discussed
below.
Practices
Officeof Information
whichagencyhas
Often,a requesterknowsbeforehand
the desiredrecords.lf so, requestsmay be madeby
eitherthe statelisting
thatagencyby consulting
contacting
listingin the localtelephonedirectoryor in the
or city/county
which is
Directory of State, Countyand Federal Offr'cn/s.4s
Those
onlineat: www.state.hi.us/lrb/capitoli/dirguide.
unableto locatethe righttelephonenumbermaytelephone
at (808)586-2211.
the stateswitchboard
Ihose needinghelpin findingthe rightstateagencymay
at (808)586-0221.
telephone
the stateOfficeof lnformation
l-hoseneedinghelpin findingthe rightcityagencyin
Honolulumaytelephone(808)523-2489.
withwhichagencyhasthe
unfamiliar
Or a requester
directory
desiredrecordmayalsoconsulta government
6rh
perH",x,x.
sdrectory
ssub,shed
:['J3r'"'1""#::,3r:r€i:7:{:::,{rff{"?^':."tti]:f":i"
by the LegislativeReieren
inthestate
soldforabout
$4atitslibrary
6This
periodicaily
ispubrished
by
Guide
organization and functions. lt also contains helpful
orqanizational chafts of the city/counties and of state
;;ij r;';ffii$d;ii6 r"#"i
departments;it is availableonline.
Capitol (tel. 587-0666).
the Leoislativeilelerence'Bureau
""" and
""-'"i-s
. "
/9
Step 2
Specifying
theDesired
Record
Step 3
Contacting
theAgency
As muchspecificinformation
as possibleshouldbe
included
in askingfor a record.lf known,includethe
specific
formnumber,issuingagencyanddatesor time
periodwhenthe recordmighthavebeencreated.
Lackingspecifics,
onemightwantto makean informal
telephone
callto the agency.Consulting
the annualreportof
the agencymayalsorevealthe kindsof recordscreatedand
maintained
by thatagency.Annualreportsare available
at
the agencyor in the Hawai'ian/Pacific
Collections
of
HamiltonLibraryat the University
of Hawai'iat Mdnoa.
The lawdoesnot requirethatrequestsbe in writing.yet,
individuals
or businesses
maybe betteroff makingtheir
firstformalrequestin writing.
lf personsmakeoralrequests,
theyare advisedto keep
a log of the namesof government
employeescontacted.
Recording
the dateof makingthe initialrequestandthe gist
of the conversation
is alsoimportant.
Lettersrequesting
recordscan be shortandsimple.No
one needsa lawyerto makea request.The Appendixes
B
andC containa sampleletterrequesting
accessto records
underPartll anda requestform.
Thereare threebasicelementsto a requestletter:
1. A statement
thattherequestis beingmadeunderpartll;
2. ldentification
of the recordsthatare beingsought,as
specifically
as possible;
3. The nameand addressof the requester.4T
Severaloptionalitemsmayalsobe included:
1. Thetelephone
numberof the requester.This
permitsan agencyemployeeprocessinga requestto
telephone
if necessary.
aTThisis the procedurethat is also usetul
for using the federal Freedomof
lnformationAct.
20
2. A questionaboutfeesthatthe requester
mighthave
to pay. lt is commonfor requesters
to ask to be
contacted
if the chargeswillexceeda fixedamount.
Thisoptionallowsa requester
to modifyor withdraw
a requestif the costis too high. Feesfor searching
for or segregating
datafrom recordsare discussedin
administrative
rulesdiscussedearlier.
Requesters
shouldkeepa copyof theirinitialletterand
untilthe requesthasbeenfinally
relatedcorrespondence
resolved.
corner:
shouldcontainin the lowerleft-hand
Envelopes
Request.A lettersentto the office
Freedomof Information
or branchwithinan agencymightalsobe copiedandsent
to the agencyheadandto OlP.
2/
Appealing Agency Denial of Access
Whenever
an agencyhasdeniedan initialrequestfor a
government
record,the requestermaychooseone of two
waysto begina directappeal.Thesetwo waysare
discussed
below.
4Hrw. Rev.Srer. g 92F-'|5(a),(b) (Supp.
1990).
osConference
CommitteeReport112-BBon
H.B. No. 20O2,House Journalat 817-819
( 19 8 8 ) .
Onewayto appealan agencydenialto a government
recordis to proceeddirectlyto the statecourts.At any time
withintwo yearsafterthe denial,the requesting
individual,
corporation
or otherlegalentitymaysue the agencyto
compeldisclosure.€"Theintentof the Legislature
is that
exhaustion
of administrative
remedies
shallnot be required
in any appealof a refusalto discloserecords."ae
The agencyhasthe burdenof proofto establishjustification
Option 1
for nondisclosure.so
Appealing
to
The law permitsa liberalrangeof statecourtsin which
a CircuitCourt theagencymaybe sued.slThesuitmaybe broughtin the
circuitcourtin whichthe requestfor the recordis made,
wherethe requested
recordis maintained,
or wherethe
agency'sheadquarters
are situated.s2
Thiscourtaction- and any appealfrom it - may take
precedence
on the docketoverall casesandshallbe
assigned
for hearingandtrialor for argument"atthe
earliestpracticable
dateand expeditedin everyway."ss
sHrw. REv.Srar. g 92F-15(c)(Supp.1990).
slConference
CommitteeReoort112-88on
H.B. No. 2002, HouseJouma/at 817-819
( 1e B 8 ) .
s2Hew.
REv.Srar. g 92F-15(e)(Supp.1990).
sHaw. REv.Srer. g 92F-15(f)(Supp.1990).
sHrw. REv.Srnr. g 92F-15(b)(Supp.1990).
s/d.
$Hrw. Flev.Smr. g 92F-15(d)(Supp.1990).
s7Haw.
Rev.Srnr. g 92F-15.3(Supp.2002).
22
The courtshallhearthe matterde novos- that is,
anewor fromthe beginning.And it mayexaminethe
government
requested
recordbehindcloseddoors- that
is, in camera- to assistin determining
whetherit, or any
partof it, maybe withheld.ss
lf the partysuingthe agencywinsin circuitcourt,the
court"shallassessagainstthe agencyreasonable
attorney's
feesand all otherexpensesreasonably
incurred
in the litigation."56
ThosefilingFO|-related
civilsuitsmust
notifyOIP in writingat the timeof the filingso thatthe office
mayintervene.5T
Option 2
Appealing
to
Officeof
lnformation
Practices
or otherlegal
corporation
The secondway an individual,
entitymayappealan agencydenialto a governmentrecord
Practices
is to proceeddirectlyto the Officeof Information
(olP).s8
newinformation-policy
to Hawai'i's
To aidthe transition
createdthe Officeof lnformation
the Legislature
framework,
(OlP).
Practices
officials
Thisofficeis to assistthe public,government
and the newsmediain gainingaccessto officialrecords
whatspecifickindsof official
and in determining
shouldbe keptconfidential.
information
Practicesis situatedin Room
ThisOfficeof Information
250 SouthKingStreet,
107,No. 1 CapitolDistrictBuilding,
586-1400.Fax:
Honolulu,
Hawai'i96813.Telephone:
OIPwarnsthatemailis
586-1412.Email:oip@state.hi.us.
nota securemedium.Website:http://ww.state.hi.us/oip.
is Leslie
by the Governor,
The Directorof OlP,appointed
Kondo.
as the agencywhich
to serveinitially
OIPis "intended
of the new
and ensureimplementation
willcoordinate
the Officeis
recordslaw. ln the longrun,however,
public
provide
place
the
can get
where
a
to
intended
at no costandwithina
assistance
on recordsquestions
amountof time."5s
reasonable
sendsbatchesof itsformalopinionsto
OIP periodically
updates
personsandagencies.lt alsofrequently
interested
listsand indexesto theseopinionsand to
and distributes
tablesof casesand of statutescited. Thesematerialsare
labeled"UIPA
notebooks
compiledin redthree-ring
Manual."OIP'sbig redbooksare indispensable
Reference
for personsseriousaboutfollowingthe evolutionof
OIP'swebsite.
Hawai'i's1989law,buttheyduplicate
OIP'sreviewof an agencydenialof accessto a
governmentrecordusesthe proceduresof informaldispute
ratherthanthe moreformalrulesgoverning
resolution,
contestedcases.60
$Hnw. REv.Srnr. $ 92F-15.5(Supp.1990).
ssConlerence
CommitteeReporl112-88on
H.B. No. 2002, House Journalal 817-8 t 9
( 1s 8 8 ) .
eConference CommitteeReport 167 on
S.B. No. 1799, HouseJourna/at843
(1e89).
that
lf OIP decidesthe recordshouldbe disclosed,
andthe agencyis requiredto
Officenotifiesthe requester
withOIP's
releasethe record.An agencydissatisfied
"does
to
actionin
the
right
bring
an
have
not
decision
CircuitCourtto contestthe OIP ruling.The legislative
in providingaccessto
and uniformity
intentfor expediency
23
government
recordswouldbe frustrated
by agenciessuing
eachother."61
In contrast,
if OIPagrees- eithercompletely
or in part
- withthe agency's
withholding
of the record,the
requester
is to be notifiedin writingof the decision,
the
reasonsfor the decision
andthe party'srightto bringsuitin
CircuitCourt.62
OIP'srulingsandopinionsare admissible
in court.63
6lConferenceCommitleeBeport 167 on
S.B. No. 1799, HouseJournalaI843
(1e89).
62Hew.
Rsv.Srer. S 92F-15.5(b)(Supp.1990).
BHew.Rev.Srer. 92F-15(b)(Supp.1990).
$
u H . B . 2 7 7 4 ,S . D . 1 ; S S C R2 8 5 5 .
sS 92F-41 was amended by Seclion 4 ol
s . B . 2 9 8 3 ,S . D .2 , H . D .2 , C . D . 1 , C C R
121.
sThis expansionof powers and duties is
detailed in Sections2 and 5 of S.B. 2983,
s . D . 2 , H . D . 2 ,C . D .1 , C C R 1 2 1 .T h e
specific portion of the Sunshine Law that
OIP is to administeris Part I ol H.R.S.
Chapter 92.
24
The 1998Legislature
amendedChapter92F in several
significant
ways. First,a personwho filesa civillawsuitthat
affectsthis Chapteris requiredto notifyOIP at the time of
thefiling;OIP mayintervene
in the action.sSecond,for
purposes,
administrative
OIPwas movedfromthe
Department
of AttorneyGeneraland was established
as a
temporary
unitfor a specialpurposewithinthe Officeof the
Lieutenant
Governor.65
Third,OIP'spowersand duties
wereexpandedso that it takesactionto overseethat state
andcountyboardscomplywithHawai'i'sopen-meeting
law
- the so-called
Sunshine
Law. OIP is to receiveand
resolvecomplaints,
adviseall government
boardsandthe
publicaboutcompliance
withthe SunshineLawand report
annuallyto the Legislature
on all complaints
received.66
Thesechangesweresignedintolaw. The FOl portionof
Chapter92Fwas unamended
in lateryears.
Eying the Records Report System
lawcarriesone
of lnformation
1988Freedom
Hawai'i's
provision one urgedby citizensto
otherimportant
andgroups
on individuals
secretrecordkeeping
eliminate
Thisprovision
requires
by stateand localgovernments.6T
agenciesto discloseto the publicand
stateandcity/county
Practicesthe existenceof their
to the Officeof lnformation
typesof records and to citetheirlegalauthorityfor
maintaining
eachrecordtype. Whenenacted,this
provision
lawwas the mostsweepingin the
in Hawai'i's
and wentwell beyond
countryamongstategovernmentsos
practices
of the federalgovernment.
the disclosure
67Seetestimonvoflered bv American
Associationof UniversitvWomen, Hawai'i
State Division, in Repoh ol the Governo/s
Committee on Public Records and
Privacy,Vol. ll, at 147 and by Beverly Ann
DeeoeKeeverat 335-371(December
1987).
aBelore Hawai'i'slaw was enacted,the
federal governmentand the state oJ Utah
had instituteda similar scheme for
disclosingrecordsmaintainedon
individuals- but not tor records
maintainedon groups,businesses,
corporationsand on ofticialtransactions;
neiiher maintaineda centralizedoffice for
disclosureol records.
Excerptstrom an annual report
describingUtah's noncomputerized
classificationof its recordson individuals
is containedin Reportof the Governor's
Committeeon Public Recordsand
Privacy,Vol. lll at 341-361(December
1987).
Hawai'iis also among the few states to
have all state and county executive,
leqislative.
and iudicialbranchesof
oolvernmentincludedunder in its Freedom
5l Informationlaw, accordingto Governor
John Waihee, Openhne,Office of
InformationPractices'newsletter,Vol. 5,
No. I at 2 (October1993).
6eFora discussionon federal
recordkeepingon residentaliens and
JapaneseAmericancitizens,see Personal
Justlce Denied: Report of the
Commission on Wartime Relocation and
lnternment of Civiliansat 51-60
(December1982);for the tederal interface
with a speciallyformed espionage unit of
the HonoluluPolice Deoartment,see
MichaelJohn Gordon, Suspectsin
Paradise.' Looking for Japanese
"Subversives" in the Tertlory ol Hawai'i,
1939-1945, and Honolu/u Week/y, March
1 5 . 1 9 9 5 .a t 3 .
ToMichael
V. Little,Officeof InJormation
Practices,al a demonstrationof the
RecordsReportSystem,Honolulu,April
27,1995.
71O/P Openlrne,(Office of lnformation
Practices'newsletter),Vol. 5, No. 9 at 2
(October1993).
At the outbreakof WorldWar ll secretdossierson
agentsin Hawai'ito seize
individuals
enabledgovernment
withoutwarrantsor
selectively
and thenincarcerate
of
probable
of citizensand alienresidents
causehundreds
barbed
relocated
behind
were
Japanesedescent.They
wirein isolatedinlandcampsfor the durationof the war
becausetheywerefearedfor actsof espionageor
sabotage.6e
As of April25, 1995,morethan20,000stateand local
- or aboutone-eighthof the
government
recordtypesTo
estimatedtotal- had beenamassedby the Officeof
and enteredintoa fullyautomated,
Practices
Information
systemthat was expectedto
computer
onlinestatewide
becomethe largestin Hawai'i.The computerprintout
listingthe namesof these20,000recordsis nearlyan inch
centralizeddirectoryof all state
thick. Thiscomputerized,
recordswill be the firstof its kindin
and localgovernmental
the nationTl
and uniquein the UnitedStates.
As of July 1, 2002,33,649recordtypeshavebeen
reported
by agenciesto the RRS. Thesecover24,169by
1,645by
816 by the legislature;
agencies;
stateexecutive
976
the Judiciary;
4,433by Cityand Countyof Honolulu;
Hawai'iCounty;861 by Kaua'iCounty;749 by MauiCounty.
to the
accessible
Of these,59 percentare completely
onlyto specificpersonsor
public,7 percentare accessible
after
14 percentare accessible
undercertainconditions,
percent
16
are
information,
of confidential
segregation
and four percentare
confidential
unconditionally
"Therecordreports
explains:
undetermined.
OIP
records,
whichonlydescribegovernment
themselves,
25
containno confidential
information
and are completely
public."72
Severebudgetcutssince1995haveslowedprogress
of
the agency'sinputting
recordsto the RRS. Butthe
cumbersome
computerized
databaseis nowbeing
transformed
for dissemination
on the Internet,
whichis
expected
to becomeavailable
to the publicin 2004in a far
easier-to-use
mediumandformat.73
journalists,
government
Citizens,
employees
and
businesses
cangathermuchusefulinformation
fromthis
onlinedirectory.Theywillbe ableto viewa reportof each
recordtypeenteredintothe database,
including
the name
and location
of the record,whetherthe recordis publicor
confidential,
the officeto contactto requestaccessto the
recordandthe sourcesand usesof the information
in the
record.
In addition,officialscan generatecomputerized
reports
that sortthe agency'srecordsby name,by form number,by
public/confidential
accessclassification,
by retentionperiod
and by mediatypesuchas paper,microfiche
or computer
disk. Muchof thiskindof information
is requiredby lawand
is to be updatedannually.Ta
Individuals
can searchelectronically
throughthe 20,000
recordsto locatekeywords- suchas recordsrelatedto
elephants,
milkor ethnicity.Forexample,fourrecord
namescontaining
thetermethnic?werelocatedamong
the 20,000in the databaseon May3, 1995.The computer
printoutof one of thesefour recordsis shownon page27.
72OlP,2OO2Annual Report 46-47,
T3Michael
V. Little interviewat OlP,
Oct. 8, 2003.
7aHew.
REv.Srer. g 92F-18(Supp.1990),
26
The printoutillustrates
the 29 fieldsof information
enteredin the databaseabouteachgovernmentrecord.
Fieldsare identified
by the numberin the left-hand
column.
Field3 in the left-hand
columngivesthe numberof the form
that gaveriseto the governmentrecordin the Department
of Laborand Industrial
Relations.Thisform,as shownon
page28, is accessible
fromDLIRbut whenfilledout it is
confidential
untilthe nameis redacted.Fields6-g showthe
nameof the government
officialresponsible
for maintaining
thatrecordtypeand hisaddressand telephone
number;
thisis keyinformation
for thosewho wantto knowthe
contentsof thattypeof record.Fields10-13explainthat
publicaccessto thoserecordsthathavebeenfilledout
wouldbe permitted
oncethe government
employee's
name
has beenerasedandthe rationale
for thataccessdecision.
Field27 listing"mediatype"indicatesone of the 15
differentwaysin whichthat recordmay be stored,including
disk,computerreeltape,CD ROM,
on paper,computer
or photograph.
audiotape,videotape
film,microfilm,
someagencieshavebeenslowto catalog
Although
for OlP,theywillbenefitby savingtheirlabor
theirrecords
the
andtimein assisting
publicand alsoby
government
streamlining
operations.Ts
DATE 05/03/1995 - 76t22.28 - wL
- OPFICE OF INFORI'IATION PRACT]CES
STATE OF HAWAI'I
NBCOSO3C
RECORDS REPORT SYSTEH
FULL RECORD REPORT
TTWARNINGTT
1.
2.
3.
4.
6.
7.
RECORD NME:
COE}ION NAIiE:
FoRM NO:
A
AGENCY:
A2
02
THE OIP HAS NOT YET REVIEWED THIS RECORD.
DLIR ETHNIC CATEGORY
STATE OF IIAWAI'I,
ETHNIC CATEGORY
f
o
m
f
6
1ir
Pers
5' ABBREV:
STATE OF IIAVJAI'I EXECUTIVE AGENCIES
RELATIONS
LABOR & IrcUSTRIAL
RSN:
PERSONNELOFFICE
DLIR-PO
0020055
9. BUS. ADDRESS: 001
830 Punchbowl St!eet
Buildj.nq
Keelikolani
Hr
Honolulu
OFFICER INFORUATION
PERSONNEL OFFICER
GOTO, EDVIIN
PHOM: : 586-9040
96813
Access pemitted
aCCESS CLASS: CONFIDANTIAL/CONDTTIONAL ACCESS from
of infomation
public
after
segregation
Protected
C A 02
UIPA exceptlon.
by an appl'icable
discl.osure
conc
l
e
a
r
l
y
w
o
u
l
d
i
n
f
o
m
a
t
i
o
n
of this
discLosure
Public
RITIONALE:
privacy'
personal
of the employee's
an invasion
stitute
10-12.
13.
],4. LEGAL AI.NHORITY FOR ACCESS CLASSIFICATION
Statutes
AUTHORITY: Hawai.i Revised
CODE A:
15. LEGAL AUTHORITY FOR }TAINTAINING
Revised
Haeaii
AmHORITY:
CODE G:
],6. RECORD RETENTION
2 Yeats
CODE: 806
].?. RECORD RETENTION REASON
Ceneral' Records
CODE G:
cF.f.
RECORD
Statutes
Schedule-State
Lo
orf-11
SECT:25-20
of
in the
a quickeducation
andtasks
manyactivities
thatthe Zooemployees
perform:everythingfrom A
to Z, from"AnimalKeePer
DailyReport"to "ZooGoals
and Objectives."
Hawai'i
18. INFOR}TATION KEPT IN THE RECORD
Labor/hplolment
CODE: L1
Persodel
P2
19. INDIV1DUALS ABOUT WHOI{ RECORDS ARE MAIMAINED
CODE: G
H
EhPloyees
lhployees
Foner
20. NON-GOVERNHENT SOURCES
To Whon Record
lndividual
CODE: O8
21. GOVERNI{EMT AGENCY SOI'RCES
Pertains
22. AUTHORITY WHICH STATES PROCEDURE TO REQUEST ACCESS
sEcT:92f-11
92F, HRS)
UIPA (Chapter
CODE: A
23. POLICIES AND PROCEDIIRES ABOUT STORAGE, RETRIEVAL & ACCESS CONTROLS
o!
file
cabinets/drawers
suctr as locked
seculity,
File
fo!
agency assistance
which reguire
other means of storage,
retrieval.
record
24. RECORDUSES
Persomel
CODE: 19
25. ROUTINE NON-GOVERNIiIENT USERS OF THE RECORD
hployees
coDE: 08
26. GOVERNI'{ENTAGENCY USERS
2?. RECORD LOCATION
Paper
MEDIA TYPE: P
P
PaPer
CoDE: 900
001
A1t
subdivisions
830 Punchbowl Street
Building
Keelikolani
Hono1uLu
The firstagencythat
had enteredall of its
recordswas the Honolulu
Zoo. Scanningits 1995list
of 362 recordtypes
providesa kindof x-rayof
its variousgovernment
muchlikea
operations,
budgetdepictsits flow of
funds.The Zoo'slist
provides
of
the
Hr
Dept.
96813
2 8 . COr'fiENT:
29, PERSONAL RECORD: Y
7sWaihee,O/P Open/ine,Vol. 5, no. I at 3
(October1993).
7"OlP Open/ne, Vol. 7, no. 3 at 1 (March
199s).
Someof the more
recordnamesare
intriguing
"BirdCorrespondence"
(theseare literatebirds!),
MouseColonyProtocol
(mindyourmanners),
"Changeof DietRequest
(morezoo animalsthatcan
write),and"AnimalEscaPe
Plans"(theanimalsnever
shouldhavewrittenthem
down!).76
Of the 362Zoorecords,
as
percent
are classified
96
public
public,indicating
and 4
accessis required,
percentare confidential/
27
conditional,
indicating
accessis permitted
to the publicafter
segregation
of information
thatis protected
fromdisclosure
by an exception
to Hawai'i'sFreedomof Information
presumption
thatall government
recordsare open.77
ETHNIC
ln addition,
98 percentof the Zoo'srecordsareon paper
and2 percentare computerrecords.TE
Thesestatistics
aboutthe Zoo remained
unchanged,
as of October
CA?EGORY
2003.
The Equal bnplo)ment
Opportunity
Act of 1972 requires
that.
j.ncluding
t.he state
minlain
certain
records
of its
employees
Eheir
et.hnlc categorization.
In order
that we my
comply
please
wit.h t.he requiremen!,
circle
oae of the lollowing
your ethnic
letEers
to j-ndicate
background.
CIRCLE QNE LETTER ONLY:
B.
Black
White
-
persons of
al.so includes
Indo-European
descent,
e.g. Pakistani
and East
Indian;
and persons of
portugese,
Spanish or Latin
(excluding
descent
Filipino
p
u
e
r
t
o
and
Rican).
M. Mixed
-
includes
all
mixtures
other
(partthan part-Hawai.ian
Hawai ' ians circle
" part
Hawai'ian"
letter)
.
O. Other
or
unknom
other).
w.
C. Chinese
F.
Filipino
H- Hawai'ian
J.
Japanese
K.
Korean
P.
Part-Hawai'i.an
R.
Puerto
S.
Samoan
L&IR Per-
Rican
Fom
#6
(5/80)
n /d.
78/d.
7s/d.
eWaihee, OlP Openline, Vol. 5, no. 9
at 1.
28
-
(Specify
if
The Zoo now has an
alphabeticallist of its
records sorted by types
of informationkeot in the
records,such as
administrativerecords,
f inancialrecords,budget,
citizeninquiries/
correspondence,
complaints,contracts,
health-medical
investigativerecords,
license/permit,
personnel,property
management,and rules
and regulations.so
A sampleof University
of Hawai'iRecordsby unit
in OIP'sRRSis shownat
Sagnature
right. UH hadentered689
recordtypesintothe RRS
as of October8. 2003. But
mostof theserecordswere
for the late1980sthroughmid-1990s
andwereenteredby
onlyfiveunits(Director
of Planningand Policy,Institutional
Research
Office,Personnel
Management
Office,Planning
Office,VicePresident
of University
Relations
Office).More
recentand extensiveinformation
containedin the reports
themselves
fromnumerousUH unitsare available
on the
UH website:www.hawaii.edu.
Besidesstreamlining
government
operations,
Governor
JohnWaihee,shortlybeforeleavingoffice,saidthat
Hawai'i'sFreedomof Information
law had alsoaided
journalism."lt was thisadministration
investigative
that
openedup all the filesuponwhichreporters
are nowbasing
theirinvestigative
stories.lt was not simplythatin the
1990sthe localnewspapers
suddenlydiscovered
jou
investigative rnalism."so
DATE 01/07ll-998 -- 1O;34:50 -- MVL
- OFFTCE OF INFORMATION PRACTICES
NBCOSO2
STATE OF HAWAI'I
RECORDS REPORT SYSTEM
RECORD NAMES BY AGENCY ORGANIZATION REPORT
UNTVERSITY OF HAWAI'I
*** NO RECORDSON FILE
FOR THIS
A 22 OO OO OO OO OO
AGENCY *T*
BOARD OF REGE}TTS
*** NO RECORDS ON FILE
FOR THIS
A 22 OI
AGENCY ***
OFFICE OF BOR SECRETARY
*** NO RECORDS ON F]LE
FOR THIS
A 22 OL OO OO OO OO
AGENCY ***
STATE POST SEC EDUCATION COMM
*** NO RECORDS ON FILE
FOR THIS
A 22 01' OO O]. OO OO
AGENCY ***
STATE OFFICE OF VOCATIONAL ED
*** NO RECORDSON FILE
A 22 O1 OO 02
AGENCY ***
OO OO
FOR THIS
STATE DTRECTORS OFFICE
*** NO RECORDSON FILE
A 22 OI
AGENCY ***
OO 02
01, OO
FOR THIS
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
*** NO RECORDS ON FILE
A 22 02
AGENCY ***
OO OO O]. OO
FOR THIS
EXEC OFFTCE OF THE PRESIDEMI
*** NO RECORDS ON FTLE
A 22 02
AGENCY ***
OO OO OO OO
FOR THIS
A 22 02
AGENCY ***
13
FOR THIS
CHANCELLOR OF COMMUNITY COLLEGES
***
NO RECORDS ON FILE FOR THIS
A 22 02
AGENCY ***
1'3 OO OO OO
EMPLOI'}{ENT TRAINING OFFICE
***
NO RECORDS ON FILE
HAWAI'I
COMMUNITY COLLEGE
*** NO RECORDSON FILE
DIRECTOR OF
1988
1988
].988
1988
].988
FOR THIS
PLANNING & POLICY
SAT REPORT
UH FALL ENROLLMENT REPORT
LIHM ENROLLMENT STUDY
TIHM ENROLLMENT STUDY
TIHM ENROLLMEMI STTIDY
A 22 02
AGENCY i**
OO OO OO OO
OO 05
].3 07
OO
OO OO
A 2 2 0 2 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 0
EQU EMPL OPP/AFFIR ACT - MANOA
***
NO RECORDS ON FILE FOR THIS
A 22 02
AGENCY ***
1'L OO OO OO
INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS
***
NO RECORDS ON FILE FOR THIS
TECH TRANS & ECON DEV - MANOA
***
NO RECORDS ON FILE FOR THIS
A 22 02
AGENCY ***
04
OO OO OO
A 22 02
AGENCY ***
10
07
A 22 02
FOR THIS.AGENCY -***
09
OO OO OO
UNTVERSTTY BUDGET OFFICE
*** NO
FILE
OO OO
BARGAINING
NO RECORDS ON FILE
A 22 02
AGENCY ***
07
O], OO OO
FOR THIS
LEGAL AFFAIRS
*** NO RECORDS ON FILE
A 22 02
AGENCY ***
07
02
OO OO
FOR THIS
A 22 02 07 03
PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT OFFICE
REPORT
ANNUAL SUMMARY OF INVENTORIES
DATA SURVEY
APPLICANT
SERVICE POSITION
APPLTCATION FOR CIVIL
DPS SPONSORED COURSES CCITIH REGISTRATION FORM
SUMMARY
EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
OO OO
COLLECTIVE
***
UNIVERSTTY RELATIONS
***
NO RECORDS ON FILE
A 22 02
AGENCY ***
05
OO OO OO
FOR THIS
ALUMNI AFFAIRS
***
NO RECORDS ON FILE
A 22 02
AGENCY ***
05
03
OO OO
FOR THIS
MEDIA RELEASES & PUBLICATION
***
NO RECORDS ON FILE FOR THIS
A 22 02
AGENCY ***
05
02
OO OO
V.P.
'
A 22 02 05 01 OO OO
VP UNTV RELATTONS OFFICE
APPLTCATION FOR LEAVE OF ABSENCE
FOR TRANSFER OF VACATION AND SICK LEAVE CREDIT
APPLICATION
LETTER
ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION
FOR OVERTIME WORK
AUTHORIZATION
29
Appendix A
A NoteonPartlllDisclosure
of Personal
Records
gaining
access
togovernment
records
generally,
citizens
mayalsowantto
.Besides
review
theirownrecords
heldbya government
agericy.
personal
Obtaining
records
isimportant
toensure
thattherecords
aboutoneself
are
- orshould
accurate,
up-to-date,
complete
evenbecompiled
andonfileinthefirstplace.
Inaccurate,
incomplele
or untimely
records
coulddamage
a person's
ability
togeta
joborpromotion,
desired
a loanfromthegovernment
foraiarietyofpurpoies
ora license
to engage
inanindustry,
suchassomeconstruction
workthatisiegr.itrteo
bytheState.
Relevant
indicates.that.
anagency
mustdisclose
thatrecords
arebeingcompiled
and
maintained
onanindividual.
Unlike
thefederal
Privacy
Act,stateunO-fo.ii
ilovernment
unitsarenotpermitted
underthispartofthelawto dehytheexistence
oicaiegories
ot
records,
eventhosetheyneednotdisclose.
Unlike
Hawai'i's
Freedom
ofInformation
part,whichpermits
access
only,thedisclosure
of personal
records
in Partlll establishes
therighttocoirect,
amend
orerprngerecords
in
whichinformation
abouttherequester
is notaciurate,
relevant,
timely
oi.brifrt..
Partlll ofthelawapplies
to"anyaccessible
personal
record"
thatis maintained
bya
stateorlocalgovernment
agency
inHawai,i.Bl
Theterm"personal
record"
isbroadly
defined.
Thelawreads:
"Personal
record"
meansanyitem,collection,
or grouping
of information
aboutanindividual
thatis maintained
by
anagency.lt includes,
butis notlimited
to,theindividuals
education,
financial,
medical,
oimfroy*rnt history,
or itemsthatcontain
or makereference
totheindividual's
name,ioeniitying
number,
symbol,
or otheridentifying
'
particular
assigned
to theindividual,
suchasa fingerorvoiceprintor iinotograp6."
There
arefiveexemptions
toaccess
to personal
records.
These
exemptions
cover
certain
typesof record.s.
relating
tolawenforcement
proceedings
orto
agalnst
theindividual
ortoidentifying
a confidential
source,
compromising
testing
or the6xariination
proc.rs,o,
thosethatarenondisclosable
byjudicial
decision
oiby otherauthorities.
Those
uncertain
astowhichpartofthelawto useorthepartthatwillgivethebetter
results
areadvised
tomakerequests
underbothparts- theFreedom
of information
part
andtheDisclosure
of Personal
Records
part.
one'sownpersonal
record
generally
arethesameasthosefor
. Thestepsforobtaining
obtaining
records
undertheFreedom
of Information
paitof Hawai'i's
law.Therequester
mayappeal
totheCircuit
Courtif anagency
refuses
todisclose
orcorrect
one'sownpersonalrecord.
8lHew'Rev' Srnr' 92F-21 (Supp1990). This section reads: "lndividual'saccess.to own personal record.
$
Each agency
thai maintainsanv accessiblefeirsonal iecord shalLmake that r"coroiuairaBie
to the individualto whom it pertains, in a
reasonablyintelligibletorm. Wnere ne."-.t"iih;';gency
shail provioe I liinstation into C;;o;
Grms of any machine
readabtecode or any code or abbreviationerfiptoyedioaiirGi"ir'"g";cvlJIe":
EzHnw.
Rev.Srar. g 92F-3 (Supp. 1990).
30
Appendix B
Form RequestingAccess to a Record
RECORD
REQUESTTO ACCESSA GOVERNMENT
DATE:
TO:
FROM:
Narnc or Alias
Contact Intdmation
Altrough you are not requiredto provideany personalinformation,you shouldprovideenough informationto
of this requestmay be stoppedif the agency
allowhe agencytocontactyou aboutthisrequest.The processing
is unableto contactyou. Therefore,pleaseprovideany informationthat will allow the agency to contactyou
(nameor alias,telephone
or fax number,mailingaddress,e.mailaddress,etc.).
:
Describethe govemmentrecordas specifcally as possibleso that it can be located. Try to providea record
name, subject matter, date, location,purpose, or names of persons to whom the record refers, or other
informationthat could help tre agency identify the record. A complete and accurate descriptionof the
r ei vl le n t d e l a y s i n l o c a t i n g t h e r e cAotrtda.c h a s e c o n d p a g e i f n e e d e d .
g o v e m m e n t r e c o r d y o u r e q u e spt w
I WOULD LIKE:
(pleasecheckoneor moreof the optionsbelow)
tr
To inspect the govemmenl record.
tr
A copy of the governmentrecord: (Pleasecheckone ofthe optionsbelow.)Seethe backofthis page
for informationabouttees that you may be requiredto pay for agencyservicesto processyour record
request.Note:Copyingand bansmissionchargesmay also applyto certainoptions.
tr
f] Plckup at agency(date and time):
flMail
E Fax(tollfree and onlyif available)
! Ctther,if available(pleasespeci!):
lf tre agencymaintainsthe recordsin a form otherthan paper,pleaseadvisein wtrich
formatyou wouldpreferto havethe record.
!
tr
Electronic!
auoio !
Cther(pleasespecify):
Checkthis box if you are atachinga requestfor waiverof fees in the publicinterest
(seewaiverinformationon back).
S E EB A C KF O RI M P O R T A N ITN F O R M A T I O N
olP I (rev.9/12/01I
Also availableat www.state.hi.us/oipiforms
3/
Appendix
B (Continued)
Form Requesting Access to a Record
FEESFOR PROCESSING
RECORDREQUESTS
You may be chargedfeesfor the servicesthat the agencymust performwhen processingyolr record
request,includingfeesfor makingphotocopiesand otherlawfulfees. The firsl $30 of fees charged
for searchingfor a record,reviewing,and segregatingwill not be chargedto you. Any amount
over $30will be chargedto you. Feesare as fdlo,vs:
Searchfor a Record
ReMewand Segregation
of a Record
$2.50for 15 minutes
$5.00for 15 minutes
WAIVEROF FEESIN THE PUBLICINTEREST
Up to $60 of feesfor searchingfor. segregating
and reviewingrecordsmay be waivedwhen the waiver
wouldservethe publicinterestas describedin section2-71-32,HawaiiAdministrative
Rules. lf you
wish to applyfor a waiverof fees in the publicinterest,you must aftachto this requesta statementof
facts,includingyour identityas the requester.to show hoy the waiverof fees would serve the public
i n t e r e s tT. h e c r i t e r i a f o r t h i s w a i v e r , f o t r n d a t s e c t i o n 2 - 7 1 - 3 2A. dHm
aw
i nai si it r a t i v e R u l e s , a r e :
(1)
(2)
(3)
Therequested
recordpertainsto the operations
or activilies
of an agency:
Therecordis nc{readilyavailable
in the publicdomain;and
Therequester
hasthe primaryintention
andthe actualabilityto widelydisseminate
information
fromthe governmentrecordto the publicat large.
AGENCYRESPONSETO YOUR REQUESTFORACCESS
The agencyto wl'tichyol addressedyour requestmust respondwithina set time period. The agenry
will normallyrespondto yo.t within10 businessdaysftornthe dateit receivesyour request:however.in
extenuatingcr'tcurr?stances
the agencymust respondwithin20 businessdays frornthe date of yotr
request. lf you have questionsaboutthe responsetime,yor may contactthe agency'sUIPA contact
person. lf you are nd satisliedwith the agency'sresponse,ycr.rmay call the Ofice of Information
Practices
at 80&58&1400.
REQUESTER'S
RESPONSIBILITIES
You havecertainresponsibilities
under$2-71-16,HawaiiMministrative
Rules.You may obtaina copy
of theserulesfromthe LieutenantGovernor'sOfficeor from the Offlceof lnformationPractices.These
responsibilities
includemakinganangements
to inspectand copyrecords,proMding
furtherclarifcation
or descriptionof the requestedrecordas instructedby the agency'snotice.and makinga prepayment
offees.if assessed.
olP l (rev.9l12/O\l
32
Appendix G
Sample Letter Requesting Government
Record Access Under FOI (Part lll
Head
Agency
orBranch
Title
Name
ofAgency
Address
ofAgency
StateZIP
City,
Re:Freedom
ol Information
request
under
Partll,UIPA
Dear
theprovisions
oftheUniform
lnformation
Practices
Act(Modified),
Partll - Freedom
Under
I
am
requesting
oflnlormation,
access
to[identify
therecords
asclearly
andspecifically
aspossible].
please
lf thereareanyfeesbeyond
I haverequested,
therecord
inform
$30forprocessing
youfilltherequest.
mebefore
Please
the
records
without
informing
me
if
the
fees
supply
donot
[Or:
exceed
$_.1
I amrequesting
foryourrequest
thisinlormation
thereason
ifyouthinkitwill
[Optional:
[state
youinobtaining
theinformation.l
assist
choose
oneormore
options:
I request
a waiver
ofupto$60infeesinthe
ilfappropriate,
public
pertains
interest
andamattaching
a statement
record
tothe
offactsthat1.therequested
ofactivities
ofanagency,
isnotreadily
inthepublic
operations
2.therecord
available
domain,
theprimary
intention
information
3.I have
andtheactual
ability
towidely
disseminate
fromthe
government
record
tothepublic
atlarge.l
please
you
lf alloranypartofthisrequest
exemption(s)
which
isdenied,
citethespecific
justifies
your
refusal
to release
think
theinformation,
yourhandling
appreciale
Ishould
andI looklonrard
thisrequest
asquickly
aspossible,
tohearing
10days.
fromyouwithin
Sincerely,
Signature
Name
Address
Street
City,State,
ZIP
Businesstelephone
[Optional]
[Optional]Hometelephone
[Optional]E-mail
Note: Be sure to write in the lower left-handcorner of the envelopeused for mailing:
UniformInformationPracticesAct (Modified),Part ll - Freedom of InformationRequest
33
Appendix D
Opinion Letter Summaries
on OIP's Website
of Workers' Compsnsallrn l*s urarrce
tobcr27. lg8g
Tsx€€ : Otf€rs-in'Cornorornbe
Lisl lcr Hayraiian Hom€lands
afld Occ{rgatis}s ot Govsrnrr}€nl Loan R€cbisnts
20. 1S8C
Scf$ol Admissions Committe€ Merbershir
scenrbsr 12, 1S8S
Pafr lo Usncrs at BlaisdiolArona
p{€rnb€r 12. '1$8S
ntity of ConFlainanl
,
Traalrnsnl Faciliry lfilorrnatro{r
eflbsr 15. 1989
lnfornatim About lnrnales
Hom€ Addressss ard l"'loma Ta,E!firofi€ Numt€.rs
enber 27, '1S89
Rasidential Car€ Ho{De Vbleti,c$c
Rstirerneal Allovancss
18, 139{
Csrtifted D rivBrs' Ab€tracts
31, lgg0
Training Coirrse tdaterials
lSacial Securiw Nunbsrs and Sirihdal€s
L-_____L
ebruary26. 1990
Servic€ CuElom8r Horna Tobphsnp Nunb6rs;
€bruary 26, 1990
Program Flel ierv Reports
ebruan,26. 199O
30. 1990
30.1990
9. 1990
Iotornratiln
ames oJ Persons Sorving on Uni'rersity S€arch Cornmine€
Aprll24, '195,0
:lgo"rs
'm" 18,1990
Iranciai aftd Conplam€
34
Arldit ol Advocacy Ag|gr€y
28. 1gO0
90.24
------l
m"2s----_-l
Siaiistic Rocords
9. 1990
D'rscbsurs ol Hstir€B's Data
L--____-_,,-l
Pssrnil A#*ications
ts{r.26
Bscords ol Doceas€d lrKttv,iluals
Corporalbn ot UH: S1ahisUrder lhs. UIPA
Serv ic€ Colrsr.lrnrlbn Dala
23. 1990
tirrt Records ol Lbrary Fatron€
for Drscbsre of Settlenxnl Agr+em3nt 8€tw€€n an
aod a Privat€ Party
ofl Oral:fsstiTlorly
al County Couflci
Proieclcd lrom Dbchsuro by Court Ordel
Urldsf Ssctbn 8.14.2, Rsvbsd Or&lancas ol
y Ma*ll€narrc€ of B€€ords $bflin€d
bry Privale
ot lel.lfft€'€ ot a Public ,Meetirg
Schadub ol lr{aximum Allorvable lvlsdtcal Fsos
Olelo: Tho Corporatbn For Conrnu*ity Talevisioei srld
: l(s,uai Cornmu$ity TslBvision, lfic.
on Eilk ard Rssolutbrs Witho{rt Notice
Mjrrdicativs RsrordE ol iha Jdi.oiary, Atrninisrrative Drivefs
of CourrcihEcrfib€rs rtttlo Hav€ Nol Ysl Oftici&lv
traksn Office lo,Disclrss sel€4tbn oJ Officers
Sct|oal B4ards 8rld th€ Sumhin€ l3w
z, 2003
ilPT:T,yj:
:f
R€'cordsol the crirn€ Victimco{rp€{Ration
Selectlcn Commissixr Dst of Nominees
g ioox
11.2003
and Part ll of til4 U*ifor,m Intorfiaticn Practices Acl
T,ransmbsb{lof Tastirnooy
i Flanning Commbsion and Subdivbion Co*rrninee
Scfioals ard the UIPA
e lrom Pe,rding Folice Investiptbn
FBc
al Er€cl,liv€ M{€tirEs by Parties O$Er Than
;ounci or iBoard lvl€{rtars
14,2003
17.2003
7.ffi3
14.2003
I I, 2003
of NoD.Bqard M€nbsrs Inc*rd€d in Mirunes
bsure oi Griovarrca FilG10th€ Otlice ol ttre Lesisrlativs
Ariirna:l Gar€ A$/isory Ccmmitt€€
losrrr€ of Urgv€rsitv's Codracl with H€sd FootbellCceh
' Prsso{}ee - R€quirsd lo Aacomp'ish
th€ Esssntial
of an Executivs
€Hav/aiiloy Horne leHsv/aii{ro/ T€rms ol Uss lsHaea$Go,v Privacv Polbv
O 2002 Stal€ ol Harvail;aHawaiGo/ . Afi rbhls resarved.