STAND. COM. REP. NO. 707

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 572

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 572 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO INFORMATION PRACTICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to authorize the Office of Information Practices, rather than individual government agencies, to adopt administrative rules regarding agency record protection responsibilities for all state and county agencies that are subject to the Uniform Information Practices Act to uniformly follow and implement.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Information Practices and one individual.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from The Civil Beat Law Center for the Public Interest.

     Your Committee finds that existing law authorizes each agency to individually adopt administrative rules to protect agency records and prevent manifestly excessive interference with agency duties.  This measure promotes uniformity among agencies that are subject to the Uniform Information Practices Act by authorizing the Office of Information Practices to adopt rules that establish a single standard for agencies to follow.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Inserting an effective date of January 7, 2059, to encourage further discussion; and

     (2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 572, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 572, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Labor,

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GILBERT S.C. KEITH-AGARAN, Chair