Reports
- 2022: Despite Fewer Disputes Since 2020, OIP Opinions Still Take More than 3 Years (February 2023): When lawsuits are faster, OIP is no longer serving the role that the Legislature intended for OIP to be an “expeditious” place to resolve disputes about public records and open meetings.
- 2021: Over 2 Years Behind, OIP Resolved the Fewest Matters in 20 Years (Half the Prior Record Low) (February 2022): Consistent with its staffing challenges and refusal to prioritize resolving disputes, OIP issued only 4 decisions in 2021.
- Agency Lists: Ever wonder which government agencies consistently deny all access to their records or which agencies take longer on average to answer record requests. These lists provide some information based on agency reported data.
- 2020: OIP Backlog Drops Slightly After Fewest New Filings in Nearly 20 Years (January 2021): As a follow-up to the Law Center’s more detailed reports concerning delays at the Office of Information Practices, we provide statistics for 2020.
- Success: Preliminary Inclinations at OIP Make a Difference: In 2019, the Legislature asked the Office of Information Practices to experiment with its appeals process. As illustrated in the Law Center’s analysis, that experiment showed marked success in resolving disputes and highlighted areas for continued experimentation to improve delays at OIP.
- 2019: OIP Holds Backlog Steady as New Filings Increase (February 2020): As a follow-up to the Law Center’s more detailed reports concerning delays at the Office of Information Practices, we provide statistics for 2019. Decisions are still taking 2-3 years.
- 2018: OIP’s Backlog Drops as New Filings Drop (February 2019): As a follow-up to the Law Center’s more detailed reports concerning delays at the Office of Information Practices, we provide statistics for 2018. Decisions are still taking more than 2-3 years.
- A National Comparison: Delays at OIP Are Staggering (February 2018): This report follows up on our 2017 Report and finds again that the Office of Information Practices is not providing the “expeditious” forum for public access disputes that the Legislature intended. We also explore comparisons to other states that have similar agencies to OIP.
- Breaking Down Hawaii’s Broken System for Resolving Public Access Disputes (February 2017): This report provides recommendations to achieve the Hawaii State Legislature’s goal that the Office of Information Practices would be a place where the public can resolve public access disputes “within a reasonable amount of time.”
Websites
Below are links to other websites that may have information helpful to individuals interested in access to government information. These links are not intended to be an endorsement of the content or quality of the information provided on those sites. And while the Law Center monitors these links frequently, the Internet changes constantly. If you notice a broken link, please e-mail info@civilbeatlawcenter.org.
State Law
State of Hawai`i Office of Information Practices: OIP is the state agency responsible for regulating state, county, and city compliance with the Uniform Information Practices Act and the Sunshine Act. It has rules, guidance, and advisory opinions regarding UIPA and Sunshine issues.
State E-Calendar: State agencies are required to post their Sunshine agendas on the State’s electronic calendar in accordance with Executive Memorandum No. 11-11. Individual Sunshine boards may post minutes for meetings on a board website.
City Sunshine Notices: The Office of the City Clerk for the City and County of Honolulu posts massive PDFs of the meeting notices (in reverse chronological order) submitted to the Clerk. Individual Sunshine boards may have more accessible websites.
County of Hawai`i Sunshine Notices: Hawai‘i County has a calendar with links to meeting agenda and maintains agenda and minutes on the individual pages of most Sunshine boards, including County Council.
County of Kaua`i Sunshine Notices: Kaua`i County maintains agenda and minutes on the individual pages of most Sunshine boards, including County Council.
County of Maui Sunshine Notices: Maui County maintains agenda and minutes on the individual pages of most Sunshine boards, including County Council.
UIPA.org: A platform for creating, sending, and tracking UIPA requests to State and county agencies, as well as browsing and researching requests made by others.
ACLU of Hawai`i: The local ACLU chapter maintains a log of its UIPA requests and a repository of documents obtained from state agencies.
Federal Law
Office of the Government Information Services: OGIS is the ombudsman for mediating conflicts between FOIA requesters and federal agencies. OGIS also provides various resources to assist FOIA requesters.
FOIA.Wiki: Collaborative collection of information to assist requesters with issues under FOIA.
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: RCFP has a FOIA Open Government Guide and a resource for creating, sending, and organizing FOIA requests (iFOIA).
FOIA Project: A project to track FOIA litigation across the country. Summarizes and posts documents from many district court cases, and appeals are searchable.
Society of Professional Journalists: SPJ has a variety of guides and other resources for FOI requesters.
Digital Media Law Project: DMLP has a legal guide on accessing government information.