REPORT TITLE:
Open Mtgs; County Councils


DESCRIPTION:
Exempts county councils from open meeting requirements by
allowing internal rules and procedures to be established by
county councils in the spirit of the sunshine law.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           763
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT
RELATING TO PUBLIC MEETINGS.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that Hawaii's sunshine
 
 2 law, as found in chapter 92, Hawaii Revised Statutes, was enacted
 
 3 to ensure that the formation and conduct of public policy is open
 
 4 to public scrutiny and participation.
 
 5      Because of the unique nature of legislative bodies, compared
 
 6 to other governmental agencies and boards, the legislature
 
 7 provided itself an exemption from the requirements of chapter 92.
 
 8 With regard to open meeting requirements, the law allows each
 
 9 chamber of the legislature to regulate their own enforcement,
 
10 penalties, and sanctions.
 
11      Although it would be ideal for lawmakers to hold hearings on
 
12 every bill introduced, this would be impossible given the volume
 
13 of measures and the complexity of issues they face during the
 
14 legislative calendar.  More than two thousand bills are
 
15 introduced in each chamber of the legislature each session.
 
16 While some of these bill may be technical in nature, the vast
 
17 majority deal with issues of concern for the people of Hawaii.
 
18      While county councils have similar workloads and often face
 
19 the same kind of time constraints as the legislature, county
 
20 councils are not afforded the same exemption under the sunshine
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           763
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 law.  As a result, county councils must hold public hearings
 
 2 whenever any issue under their jurisdiction is discussed.  A
 
 3 recent attorney general opinion stated that if two council
 
 4 members choose to discuss an issue under the council's
 
 5 jurisdiction, a public hearing notice must be filed and the
 
 6 discussion must be held only at a meeting open to the public.
 
 7      Since, unlike the legislature, county councils are subject
 
 8 to the open meeting requirements of chapter 92, the county
 
 9 legislative process is prolonged.  In addition, this restricts
 
10 the ability of county councils to fully deliberate on issues
 
11 before taking action.  The legislature believes that there is a
 
12 need to provide county councils with the flexibility to set their
 
13 own meeting requirements--requirements that realistically follow
 
14 the spirit of the sunshine law.
 
15      The purpose of this Act is to allow open meeting
 
16 requirements and provisions regarding the enforcement, penalties,
 
17 and sanctions applicable to county councils to be governed by the
 
18 internal rules and procedures of the county councils.  However,
 
19 it is the intent of the legislature that this Act should not be
 
20 construed to infringe upon the rights of citizens to open
 
21 government as provided in chapter 92.
 
22      SECTION 2.  Section 92-10, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
23 amended to read as follows:
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           763
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      "§92-10  Legislative branch; applicability.  Notwithstanding
 
 2 any provisions contained in this chapter to the contrary, open
 
 3 meeting requirements, and provisions regarding enforcement,
 
 4 penalties, and sanctions, as they are to relate to the state
 
 5 legislature or to the county councils, or to any of [its] their
 
 6 respective members, shall be [such as shall be from time to time]
 
 7 prescribed by the respective rules and procedures of the senate
 
 8 [and], the house of representatives, and the county councils,
 
 9 which rules and procedures shall take precedence over this part.
 
10 Similarly, provisions relating to notice, agenda, and minutes of
 
11 meetings, and such other requirements as may be necessary, shall
 
12 also be governed by the respective rules and procedures of the
 
13 senate [and], the house of representatives[.], and the county
 
14 councils."
 
15      SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
16 New statutory material is underscored.
 
17      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
18 
 
19                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________