STAND. COM. REP. NO. 168

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 794
                                        




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No.
794 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC ACCESS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to make an appropriation to
support the operations of the Office of Information Practices.

     Your Committee finds that budget cuts during the last two
fiscal bienniums have left the Office of Information Practices
with insufficient funds to carry out its responsibilities under
the Uniform Information Practices Act and the new administrative
rules that are coming into effect.  Your Committee further finds
that providing additional funds to the Office of Information
Practices is vital to ensuring public access to government.
However, your Committee defers to the Committee on Ways and Means
to determine the amount of funds to provide.

     Testimony in support of this measure was received from the
Office of Information Practices, the Honolulu Community Media
Council, Common Cause Hawaii, the Hawaii Medical Service
Association, the Hawaii Coalition for Health, the League of Women
Voters, the Hawaii Health Information Corporation, the Hawaii
Medical Association, and a private individual.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No.

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 168
                                   Page 2


794 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to
the Committee on Ways and Means.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Judiciary,



                                   ______________________________
                                   AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair

 
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