STAND. COM. REP. NO.  687

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2013

RE:   H.B. No. 632

      H.D. 2

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 632, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO OPEN DATA,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to make state government more open and transparent.  Among other things, this measure:

     (1)  Requires all executive branch departments to use reasonable efforts to make appropriate and existing electronic data sets maintained by the departments available to the public;

     (2)  Requires each executive branch department to update its electronic data sets in the manner prescribed by the Chief Information Officer and as often as necessary, to preserve the integrity and usefulness of the data within specified limits;

     (3)  Limits the State's liability for certain deficiencies or incomplete data;

     (4)  Allows the Chief Information Officer to make the data sets of executive branch departments available to third parties pursuant to a license that may contain certain requirements;

     (5)  Requires the Chief Information Officer, in consultation with the Office of Information Practices, to develop policies and procedures to make data sets available to the public; and

     (6)  Appropriates an unspecified sum to the Office of Information Practices to establish an unspecified number of full time employee positions to promote open data, and to the Department of Accounting and General Services for departments and agencies to provide open data coordinators.  

The Office of Information Management and Technology, Hawaii Open Data, League of Women Voters of Hawaii, and several concerned individuals testified in support of this bill.  The Office of Information Practices and Common Cause Hawaii provided comments.  

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 632, H.D. 2, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

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

____________________________

SYLVIA LUKE, Chair