Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 3009 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to allow the Office of Information Practices to issue an administrative fine of $50 for each violation of the Uniform Information Practices Act by a state or county agency as well as file a letter of reprimand in the personnel record of the employee responsible for the violation.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Animal Rights Hawai'i Advocates for Animals. Testimony in opposition to this measure was submitted by the Office of Information Practices (OIP), a Maui County Council Member, and Honolulu Police Department.

Your Committee finds that government agency compliance with the Uniform Information Practices Act is not consistent. Further, agency compliance is often viewed as a source of frustration by the public. The law does not currently provide consequences for noncompliance, except for judicial action that is rarely used.

Therefore, your Committee finds that agencies have little incentive for organizing their operations to routinely accommodate records requests from citizens, as required by law. Your Committee further finds that this measure is needed to provide appropriate consequences to encourage agencies and employees to comply with record requests in accordance with the law.

Your Committee has amended this measure to:

The OIP is currently administratively attached to the Lieutenant Governor's office. Only temporary offices are attached to the Lieutenant Governor's office, and your Committee finds that the OIP should not be a temporary office and should be administratively attached to the Department of Accounting and General Services.

Your Committee further finds that to ensure the autonomy of the OIP from the Department of Accounting and General Services, this measure allows the OIP to communicate directly to the Governor or Legislature and make all personnel decisions without the consent of the head of the department.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3009, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3009, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.