Hawaii 2025 Regular Session

Hawaii House Bill HB130 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B. NO. 130 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025 STATE OF HAWAII A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FEES FOR PUBLIC RECORDS UNDER CHAPTER 92F. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
2	2
3	3	HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B. NO. 130
4	4	THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
5	5	STATE OF HAWAII
6	6
7	7	HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
8	8
9	9	H.B. NO.
10	10
11	11	130
12	12
13	13	THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
14	14
15	15
16	16
17	17	STATE OF HAWAII
18	18
19	19
20	20
21	21
22	22
23	23
24	24
25	25
26	26
27	27
28	28
29	29
30	30
31	31	A BILL FOR AN ACT
32	32
33	33
34	34
35	35
36	36
37	37	RELATING TO FEES FOR PUBLIC RECORDS UNDER CHAPTER 92F.
38	38
39	39
40	40
41	41
42	42
43	43	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
44	44
45	45
46	46
47	47	SECTION 1. The legislature finds that public records laws are a critical mechanism to maintain government accountability and transparency and support citizen involvement in government decision-making. The real-world consequences of restricting access to government information can range from serious to routine but, in all cases, result in a less-informed citizenry. The legislature further finds that this Act adopts the Freedom of Information Act standard to define waivers of fees for searching, reviewing, or segregating disclosable records when in the public interest. The federal standard provides a waiver in limited circumstances based on careful examination of various factors, including the subject matter of the request and identity of the requester. Case law under the Freedom of Information Act will provide guidance for interpreting the standard. Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to: (1) Impose a cap on charges for searching for, reviewing, and segregating government records; and (2) Provide for a waiver of fees in certain circumstances when the public interest is served by a government record's disclosure. SECTION 2. Section 92F-42, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows: "§92F-42 Powers and duties of the office of information practices. The director of the office of information practices: (1) Shall, upon request, review and rule on an agency denial of access to information or records, or an agency's granting of access; provided that any review by the office of information practices shall not be a contested case under chapter 91 and shall be optional and without prejudice to rights of judicial enforcement available under this chapter; (2) Upon request by an agency, shall provide and make public advisory guidelines, opinions, or other information concerning that agency's functions and responsibilities; (3) Upon request by any person, may provide advisory opinions or other information regarding that person's rights and the functions and responsibilities of agencies under this chapter; (4) May conduct inquiries regarding compliance by an agency and investigate possible violations by any agency; (5) May examine the records of any agency for the purpose of paragraphs (4) and (18) and seek to enforce that power in the courts of this State; (6) May recommend disciplinary action to appropriate officers of an agency; (7) Shall report annually to the governor and [the state] legislature on the activities and findings of the office of information practices, including recommendations for legislative changes; (8) Shall receive complaints from and actively solicit the comments of the public regarding the implementation of this chapter; (9) Shall review the official acts, records, policies, and procedures of each agency; (10) Shall assist agencies in complying with the provisions of this chapter; (11) Shall inform the public of the following rights of an individual and the procedures for exercising them: (A) The right of access to records pertaining to the individual; (B) The right to obtain a copy of records pertaining to the individual; (C) The right to know the purposes for which records pertaining to the individual are kept; (D) The right to be informed of the uses and disclosures of records pertaining to the individual; (E) The right to correct or amend records pertaining to the individual; and (F) The individual's right to place a statement in a record pertaining to that individual; (12) Shall adopt rules that set forth an administrative appeals structure [which] that provides for: (A) Agency procedures for processing records requests; (B) A direct appeal from the division maintaining the record; and (C) Time limits for action by agencies; (13) Shall adopt rules that set forth the fees and other charges that may be imposed for searching, reviewing, or segregating disclosable records[, as well as to provide for a waiver of fees when the public interest would be served;]. The rules shall: (A) Set forth fees not exceeding $5 per fifteen minutes or fraction thereof for the search for the record; (B) Set forth fees not exceeding $7.50 per fifteen minutes or fraction thereof for the review and segregation of the record; and (C) Provide for a waiver of fees when the public interest would be served by the record's disclosure; provided that the waiver shall require that the search for or review or segregation of records be provided at no charge to the requester if disclosure of the record is in the public interest because the disclosure is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government, is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester, and is not unreasonably burdensome. Factors to be considered when determining if the disclosure would serve the public interest include, but are not limited to: (i) The subject of the request; (ii) The informative value of the information to be disclosed; (iii) The contribution to an understanding of the subject by the general public likely to result from disclosure; (iv) The significance of the contribution to public understanding; (v) The existence and magnitude of a commercial interest; and (vi) The primary interest in disclosure; (14) Shall adopt rules [which] that set forth uniform standards for the records collection practices of agencies; (15) Shall adopt rules that set forth uniform standards for disclosure of records for research purposes; (16) Shall have standing to appear in cases where the provisions of this chapter or part I of chapter 92 are called into question; (17) Shall adopt, amend, or repeal rules pursuant to chapter 91 necessary for the purposes of this chapter; and (18) Shall take action to oversee compliance with part I of chapter 92 by all state and county boards including: (A) Receiving and resolving complaints; (B) Advising all government boards and the public about compliance with chapter 92; and (C) Reporting each year to the legislature on all complaints received pursuant to section 92-1.5." SECTION 3. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date. SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored. SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval. INTRODUCED BY: _____________________________
48	48
49	49	SECTION 1. The legislature finds that public records laws are a critical mechanism to maintain government accountability and transparency and support citizen involvement in government decision-making. The real-world consequences of restricting access to government information can range from serious to routine but, in all cases, result in a less-informed citizenry.
50	50
51	51	The legislature further finds that this Act adopts the Freedom of Information Act standard to define waivers of fees for searching, reviewing, or segregating disclosable records when in the public interest. The federal standard provides a waiver in limited circumstances based on careful examination of various factors, including the subject matter of the request and identity of the requester. Case law under the Freedom of Information Act will provide guidance for interpreting the standard.
52	52
53	53	Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to:
54	54
55	55	(1) Impose a cap on charges for searching for, reviewing, and segregating government records; and
56	56
57	57	(2) Provide for a waiver of fees in certain circumstances when the public interest is served by a government record's disclosure.
58	58
59	59	SECTION 2. Section 92F-42, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
60	60
61	61	"§92F-42 Powers and duties of the office of information practices. The director of the office of information practices:
62	62
63	63	(1) Shall, upon request, review and rule on an agency denial of access to information or records, or an agency's granting of access; provided that any review by the office of information practices shall not be a contested case under chapter 91 and shall be optional and without prejudice to rights of judicial enforcement available under this chapter;
64	64
65	65	(2) Upon request by an agency, shall provide and make public advisory guidelines, opinions, or other information concerning that agency's functions and responsibilities;
66	66
67	67	(3) Upon request by any person, may provide advisory opinions or other information regarding that person's rights and the functions and responsibilities of agencies under this chapter;
68	68
69	69	(4) May conduct inquiries regarding compliance by an agency and investigate possible violations by any agency;
70	70
71	71	(5) May examine the records of any agency for the purpose of paragraphs (4) and (18) and seek to enforce that power in the courts of this State;
72	72
73	73	(6) May recommend disciplinary action to appropriate officers of an agency;
74	74
75	75	(7) Shall report annually to the governor and [the state] legislature on the activities and findings of the office of information practices, including recommendations for legislative changes;
76	76
77	77	(8) Shall receive complaints from and actively solicit the comments of the public regarding the implementation of this chapter;
78	78
79	79	(9) Shall review the official acts, records, policies, and procedures of each agency;
80	80
81	81	(10) Shall assist agencies in complying with the provisions of this chapter;
82	82
83	83	(11) Shall inform the public of the following rights of an individual and the procedures for exercising them:
84	84
85	85	(A) The right of access to records pertaining to the individual;
86	86
87	87	(B) The right to obtain a copy of records pertaining to the individual;
88	88
89	89	(C) The right to know the purposes for which records pertaining to the individual are kept;
90	90
91	91	(D) The right to be informed of the uses and disclosures of records pertaining to the individual;
92	92
93	93	(E) The right to correct or amend records pertaining to the individual; and
94	94
95	95	(F) The individual's right to place a statement in a record pertaining to that individual;
96	96
97	97	(12) Shall adopt rules that set forth an administrative appeals structure [which] that provides for:
98	98
99	99	(A) Agency procedures for processing records requests;
100	100
101	101	(B) A direct appeal from the division maintaining the record; and
102	102
103	103	(C) Time limits for action by agencies;
104	104
105	105	(13) Shall adopt rules that set forth the fees and other charges that may be imposed for searching, reviewing, or segregating disclosable records[, as well as to provide for a waiver of fees when the public interest would be served;]. The rules shall:
106	106
107	107	(A) Set forth fees not exceeding $5 per fifteen minutes or fraction thereof for the search for the record;
108	108
109	109	(B) Set forth fees not exceeding $7.50 per fifteen minutes or fraction thereof for the review and segregation of the record; and
110	110
111	111	(C) Provide for a waiver of fees when the public interest would be served by the record's disclosure; provided that the waiver shall require that the search for or review or segregation of records be provided at no charge to the requester if disclosure of the record is in the public interest because the disclosure is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government, is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester, and is not unreasonably burdensome. Factors to be considered when determining if the disclosure would serve the public interest include, but are not limited to:
112	112
113	113	(i) The subject of the request;
114	114
115	115	(ii) The informative value of the information to be disclosed;
116	116
117	117	(iii) The contribution to an understanding of the subject by the general public likely to result from disclosure;
118	118
119	119	(iv) The significance of the contribution to public understanding;
120	120
121	121	(v) The existence and magnitude of a commercial interest; and
122	122
123	123	(vi) The primary interest in disclosure;
124	124
125	125	(14) Shall adopt rules [which] that set forth uniform standards for the records collection practices of agencies;
126	126
127	127	(15) Shall adopt rules that set forth uniform standards for disclosure of records for research purposes;
128	128
129	129	(16) Shall have standing to appear in cases where the provisions of this chapter or part I of chapter 92 are called into question;
130	130
131	131	(17) Shall adopt, amend, or repeal rules pursuant to chapter 91 necessary for the purposes of this chapter; and
132	132
133	133	(18) Shall take action to oversee compliance with part I of chapter 92 by all state and county boards including:
134	134
135	135	(A) Receiving and resolving complaints;
136	136
137	137	(B) Advising all government boards and the public about compliance with chapter 92; and
138	138
139	139	(C) Reporting each year to the legislature on all complaints received pursuant to section 92-1.5."
140	140
141	141	SECTION 3. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.
142	142
143	143	SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
144	144
145	145	SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
146	146
147	147
148	148
149	149	INTRODUCED BY: _____________________________
150	150
151	151	INTRODUCED BY:
152	152
153	153	_____________________________
154	154
155	155
156	156
157	157
158	158
159	159	Report Title: Office of Information Practices; Public Records; Costs; Waiver Description: Imposes a cap on charges for searching for, reviewing, and segregating government records under the Uniform Information Practices Act. Provides for a waiver of fees in certain circumstances when the public interest is served by a government record's disclosure. The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
160	160
161	161
162	162
163	163
164	164
165	165	Report Title:
166	166
167	167	Office of Information Practices; Public Records; Costs; Waiver
168	168
169	169
170	170
171	171	Description:
172	172
173	173	Imposes a cap on charges for searching for, reviewing, and segregating government records under the Uniform Information Practices Act. Provides for a waiver of fees in certain circumstances when the public interest is served by a government record's disclosure.
174	174
175	175
176	176
177	177
178	178
179	179
180	180
181	181	The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.