The Law Center submitted the following testimony during the 2021 legislative session. The descriptions of each bill were copied from the Capitol website.

  • H.B. 103: Clarifies that the powers granted for emergency purposes shall not be inconsistent with the state constitution. Provides parameters for the duration of suspension of laws and requires justification for the suspension. Requires approval of the legislature by concurrent resolution to extend to a date certain, or deny the extension of, a proclamation of a state of emergency timely requested by the governor beyond sixty days of its issuance, unless the legislature fails to take action, in which case the state of emergency is automatically extended for sixty days. Allows the authorization of the issuance of a separate proclamation arising from the same emergency or disaster as a previous proclamation that expired, upon request of the governor and adoption of a concurrent resolution by the legislature. (SD1)
  • H.B. 347: Clarifies and expands procedural requirements for judicial review of an agency’s denial of access to a government record. Provides procedural requirements and standards of review upon appeal.
  • H.B. 481: Exempts members of a county council from the limitation on the number of members that may attend an informational meeting or presentation on matters relating to official county council business for purposes of permitted interactions. Clarifies that such meetings shall be meetings that are open to the public.
  • H.B. 503: Allows boards to use interactive conference technology to remotely conduct public meetings under the Sunshine Law in conjunction with in-person meetings, even when no emergency has been declared by government authorities. Authorizes boards to exclude the public from nonpublic locations, such as homes, where board members are physically present when remote board meetings are held by interactive conference technology. Establishes requirements for the conduct of remote meetings. Establishes a new notice requirement to provide the board’s contact information for the submission of written testimony by electronic or postal mail. Amends existing option to hold in-person meetings at multiple public meeting sites connected by interactive conference technology to require termination of meeting only if audio communication is lost and cannot be reestablished within an hour and the board had not provided reasonable notice of how the meeting would be continued. Allows for additional courtesy sites open to the public for both remote and in-person meetings held by interactive conference technology. Allows for contact tracing and social distancing during states of emergency caused by contagious diseases.
  • H.B. 608: Requires the board of education to hold no less than six community forums annually, with at least one forum in each county. Requires the board to include an open forum for public comments on non-agenda items. Requires a report to the Legislature on implementing open forums.
  • H.B. 718: Requires the department of human services to compile information regarding employers having employees who receive public assistance and to submit an annual report to the legislature on the 50 employers with the highest number of employees receiving public assistance. Requires the department of labor and industrial relations to share employment data with the department of human services. Effective 7/1/2060. (HD1)
  • H.B. 796: Updates reporting requirements by the department of public safety when employees and inmates die at correctional facilities and community correctional centers. Requires race of the decedent to be included in the report. Requires the report to cite to any authority relied upon by the department of public safety in determining that information is protected by state or federal law. Makes a copy of the report required by this section public and readily available to the family and press upon the director’s receipt of the medical examiner’s report. Effective 7/1/3050. (HD1)
  • H.B. 884: Requires the Office of Information Practices to resolve open meeting and open record complaints through either a legal determination on whether a violation occurred or guidance on the relevant legal requirements.
  • H.B. 906: Addresses deficiencies in Hawaii’s fuel shortage response and energy emergency statutes; provides policy guidance on energy resiliency and actual or potential energy supply disruptions or shortages to preserve the State’s energy resiliency and security and to ensure that fuel products and energy resources are made available to emergency services and the public in an orderly, efficient, and safe manner.
  • H.B. 930: Exempts certain specific types of alternative investment fund information from disclosure under chapter 92F, HRS, the disclosure of which would put the system at a competitive disadvantage and frustrate its legitimate government investment function. Effective 12/25/2040. (HD1)
  • H.B. 991: Authorizes the Department of Health to disclose vital statistics records for public health and law enforcement purposes. Updates eligibility requirements for access to confidential vital statistics records. (SD1)
  • S.B. 134: Prohibits the governor or the mayor from suspending requests for public records or vital statistics during a declared state of emergency. Effective 7/1/2050. (HD1)
  • S.B. 467: Requires the board of education to hold no less than six community forums annually, with at least one forum in each county. Requires the board to include an open forum for public comments on non-agenda items. Requires a report to the Legislature on implementing open forums.
  • S.B. 653: Exempts members of a county council from the limitation on the number of members that may attend an informational meeting or presentation on matters relating to official county council business for purposes of permitted interactions. Clarifies that such meetings shall be meetings that are open to the public.
  • S.B. 661: Allows boards to use interactive conference technology to remotely conduct public meetings under the Sunshine Law in conjunction with in-person meetings, even when no emergency has been declared by government authorities. Authorizes boards to exclude the public from nonpublic locations, such as homes, where board members are physically present when remote board meetings are held by interactive conference technology. Establishes requirements for the conduct of remote meetings. Establishes a new notice requirement to provide the board’s contact information for the submission of written testimony by electronic or postal mail. Amends existing option to hold in-person meetings at multiple public meeting sites connected by interactive conference technology to require termination of meeting only if audio communication is lost and cannot be reestablished within an hour and the board had not provided reasonable notice of how the meeting would be continued. Allows for additional courtesy sites open to the public for both remote and in-person meetings held by interactive conference technology. Allows for contact tracing and social distancing during states of emergency caused by contagious diseases.
  • S.B. 698: Exempts members of a county council from the limitation on the number of members that may attend an informational meeting or presentation on matters relating to official board business, including a meeting of another entity, legislative hearing, convention, seminar, or community meeting. Clarifies that such meetings shall be meetings that are open to the public for purposes of permitted interactions.
  • S.B. 720: Authorizes county council members to caucus during official council meetings.
  • S.B. 742: Requires each county police department to collect certain data regarding police stops, uses of force, and arrests, and submit to the legislature annual reports.
  • S.B. 787: Requires that revenue estimates provided by the Department of Taxation to the legislature or to any executive or administrative office be accompanied by a description of the methodology used and assumptions made in providing the estimate. Requires the estimate and description to be open to public disclosure.
  • S.B. 1034: Authorizes boards, in conjunction with in-person meetings, to use interactive conference technology to remotely conduct public meetings. Authorizes boards to exclude the public from nonpublic locations where board members are physically present when remote board meetings are held by interactive conference technology. Establishes requirements for the conduct of remote meeting. Requires remote meetings held by interactive conference technology to recess for a maximum prescribed period when audiovisual communication cannot be maintained by the board and allows the meeting to be reconvened under certain circumstances. Establishes a new notice requirement to provide the board’s contact information for the submission of written testimony by electronic or postal mail, which also applies to remote meeting agendas. Allows for additional courtesy sites open to the public for remote and in-person meetings held by interactive conference technology. Effective 5/6/2137. (HD1)
  • S.B. 1084: Exempts certain specific types of alternative investment fund information from disclosure under chapter 92F, the disclosure of which would put the system at a competitive disadvantage and frustrate its legitimate government investment function.