STAND. COM. REP. NO. 625

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 245

       S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 245, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO GOVERNMENT RECORDS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to create a statutory requirement that government agencies exercise reasonable care in maintaining government records that are open to public inspection.

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Office of Information Practices.

     Your Committee received written comments in opposition to this measure from the Department of the Corporation Counsel, City and County of Honolulu; and the Office of the County Attorney, County of Kauai.

     Your Committee received written comments on this measure from the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism and the Department of Accounting and General Services.

     Your Committee finds that in Molfino v. Yuen, 134 Hawaii 181 (2014), the Supreme Court of the State of Hawaii held that neither common law nor chapter 92F, Hawaii Revised Statutes, impose a duty to act with reasonable care with respect to maintaining government records for the purpose of public inspection.  Your Committee believes that establishing a statutory requirement of reasonable care is the appropriate response to this holding.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1)  Inserting a savings clause to ensure that the new duty imposed by this measure applies only prospectively;

(2)  Changing the effective date to January 1, 2019; and

(3)  Making a technical nonsubstantive change for the purpose of style.

     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. 245, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 245, S.D. 2.

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

________________________________

JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair