STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2403

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 2728
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B.
No. 2728 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT PROPOSING A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
     RELATING TO PUBLIC ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to propose an amendment to the
State Constitution to elevate to constitutional status the right
of persons to access public meetings and records.

     Specifically, this bill proposes a constitutional amendment
to prohibit denying a person access to any meeting held by a
public body for the purpose of deliberating or deciding on a
matter of public interest, or the right to inspect or copy any
public record made or received in connection with official
business of the public body or person acting on its behalf,
except as shall be required to protect rights of individuals
guaranteed under the constitution.  The proposed constitutional
amendment also creates a commission on open government to be
established by law to effectuate the rights guaranteed by the
proposed constitutional amendment.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the bill
from the Office of Information Practices, Common Cause Hawaii,
and Hawaii's Thousand Friends.


 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2403
                                   Page 2


     Upon careful consideration, your Committee has amended this
bill by modifying the existing language in the proposed amendment
to the following:

     "As provided by law, all persons shall have the right
     to public access of all meetings of public bodies and
     to inspect and copy public records made or received in
     connection with official business of public bodies or
     persons acting on their behalf."

and also by modifying the language of the ballot.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No.
2728, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second
Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2728, S.D. 1, and
be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

                                 Respectfully submitted on behalf
                                 of the members of the Committee
                                 on Ways and Means,



                                 ________________________________
                                 CAROL FUKUNAGA, Co-Chair



                                 ________________________________
                                 ANDREW LEVIN, Co-Chair

 
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