Laws / Rules / Opinions / 2012 Legislation

To view training videos and training guides related to the open meetings and open records laws, follow this link.

This section contains the following:

Uniform Information Practices Act (UIPA)
The Office of Information Practices ("OIP") was created by the Legislature in 1988 to administer the Uniform Information Practices Act (Modified), chapter 92F, Hawaii Revised Statutes ("UIPA"), which is Hawaii's public records law and can be found here. To help government agencies and the public understand the UIPA, OIP has an Open Records Guide (revised January 2013), which can also be found here. The latest guidance documents are a Quick Review: Responding to a Personal Record Request (April 2013) and a Quick Review: The ABCs of Redaction (April 2013).

Sunshine Law
In 1998, the Legislature gave OIP the additional responsibility of administering Hawaii's open meetings law, Part I of chapter 92, Hawaii Revised Statutes ("Sunshine Law"), which can be found here. OIP has created two guides to understand the Sunshine Law: one applies to all state and county boards, and the other applies specifically to neighborhood boards. Both guides can be found here.

Rules
OIP's administrative rules, "Agency Procedures and Fees for Processing Government Records Requests," took effect on February 26, 1999, and are set forth at Chapter 71 of Title 2 of the Hawaii Administrative Rules, which can be found here.

In addition, the Rules page includes the following documents for the new Rules for Appeals to OIP.

• "Administrative Appeal Procedures" (rules filed December 21, 2012; effective December 31, 2012)
  
  
• Guide to Appeals to the Office of Information Practices
  
  
• Statement of Rules Adopted by the Office of Information Practices on Administrative Appeals Procedures (explains revisions from draft rules)
  
  
• Notice of Public Hearing on November 15, 2012
  
  
• Draft Rules Discussed at Public Hearing
  
  
• Impact Statement
  
  
  • Public hearing AUDIO (Nov. 15, 2012) (wav file)
    

  (Click here if you need to download Windows Media Player)
  

  • Testimony: Beverly Ann Deepe Keever
    
    
  • Testimony: Doug Meller (League of Women Voters)
    
    
  • Testimony: Danny A. Mateo (Council Chair, Maui County Council; submitting testimony as an individual)
    
    
  • Testimony: Corporation Counsel, City & County of Honolulu
    
    
  • Testimony: Society of Professional Journalists
    

Formal Opinions
This section contains the full text as well as summaries and a subject matter index of OIP's 335 formal opinion letters issued since 1989, including the most recent opinion letter, 13-01. Using your editing function, the subject matter index (in Word format) is searchable using key words.

INFORMAL Opinion Letter Summaries
This section contains summaries of OIP's informal opinion letters, dating back to 2009, in three categories: Sunshine Law opinions, UIPA opinions, and UIPA decisions on appeal.

2012 Legislation
Bills affecting the UIPA and the Sunshine Law.
House Journal comments on SB 2858 CD1 by Rep. Gilbert S. C. Keith-Agaran, House Judiciary Chair. Senate Journal comments on SB 2858 CD1 by Senator Clayton Hee, Senate Judiciary Chair.
OIP's Justification Sheet for SB 2858 as introduced.