Bill Text: HI SR79 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Requesting The Office Of Information Practices To Include In The Executive Summary Of Its Annual Report To The Legislature A Tabulated Report With Information Relating To Unresolved Complaints.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-12 - Referred to GVO/JDC. [SR79 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2019-SR79-Introduced.html

---

THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	79
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTing the office of information practices to include in the executive summary of its annual report to the legislature A TABULATED REPORT WITH INFORMATION relating to unresolved complaints.

 

 

     WHEREAS, the Office of Information Practices was created to provide the public a forum for speedy resolution of disputes about access to public records; and

 

     WHEREAS, the legislative history shows that the Legislature exempted the Office of Information Practices from contested case requirements to ensure that the review would be "expeditious, informal, and at no cost to the public"; and

 

     WHEREAS, however, the average time for the Office of Information Practices to resolve public complaints has been well over a year with numerous complaints pending for two years or more, which has discouraged members of the public from bringing disputes to the Office; and

 

     WHEREAS, many states with an agency similar to the Office of Information Practices impose a deadline on that agency to resolve public disputes within a reasonable period of time; and

 

     WHEREAS, those states with an informal dispute resolution process require the complaints to be resolved within six months, with most measured in days, and many other states without deadlines have a history of resolving public complaints in less than six months; and

 

     WHEREAS, timely access to public records is critical and unnecessary delays in accessing government information increase public mistrust of, and disillusionment with, its representative government; and

 

     WHEREAS, although the Office of Information Practices is required to submit an annual report to the Legislature pursuant to section 92F-42(7), Hawaii Revised Statutes, that contains statistical information on case load and case resolutions, the required information on case load and case resolution is spread out throughout the annual report and fails to provide statistical information on the Office's complaint backlogs; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2019, that the Office of Information Practices is requested to include in the executive summary of its annual report to the Legislature a tabulated report with the following information:

 

     (1)  The number of complaints received by the Office of Information Practices regarding an agency's denial of access to information or records pursuant to section 92F-42(1), Hawaii Revised Statutes, including:

 

          (A)  A summary of the facts and the nature of each complaint; and

 

          (B)  The identification of all resolved and unresolved complaints;

 

     (2)  The number of complaints received by the Office of Information Practices regarding compliance with open public agency meetings pursuant to section 92F-42(18), Hawaii Revised Statutes, including:

 

          (A)  A summary of the facts and the nature of each complaint; and

 

          (B)  The identification of all resolved and unresolved complaints;

 

     (3)  In each successive annual report, updated information on complaints that have been resolved since the previous annual report that references:

 

          (A)  Where each newly resolved complaint appeared in the prior annual report and the basis of the resolution for each particular complaint;

 

          (B)  A summary of the facts and the nature of each complaint; and

 

          (C)  The identification of all resolved and unresolved complaints; and

 

     (4)  Number of complaints not resolved by opinion or informal decision; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Office of Information Practices.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Office of Information Practices; Backlog; Annual Report; Tabulated Report; Unresolved Complaints