STAND.
COM. REP. NO. 1470
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2025
RE: S.B. No. 1651
S.D. 1
H.D. 1
Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura
Speaker, House of Representatives
Thirty-Third State Legislature
Regular Session of 2025
State of Hawaii
Madame:
Your Committee on Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 1651, S.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC MEETINGS,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to:
(1) Require board packets to be posted no later than 7:45 a.m. on the third business day before a public meeting; and
(2) Require boards to provide notice to persons requesting notification of meetings at the time the board packet is made available for public inspection.
Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaiʻi State LGBTQ+ Commission. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Hawaii Public Housing Authority; Office of Information Practices; and Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund.
Your Committee finds that the required notice period for posting board packets before public meetings is not being implemented as the Legislature intended and some agencies interpret the existing law to mean that a board packet can be posted at any time during the second business day before the public meeting. Your Committee believes board packets are critical to informed public participation in open meetings. Without board packets, members of the public would only have the details from an agenda to base their testimony on in advance of a meeting. This measure is necessary to promote meaningful public information and ensure the public is well-informed on the details of the meetings in advance.
However, your Committee understands the concerns raised by the Hawaiʻi State LGBTQ+ Commission in regard to the timeliness in which certain boards can gather the information needed for their packets and concludes that requiring board packets to be posted two full business days before a meeting is preferable, as it provides adequate time for the boards to compile information for their packets and the public to have informed opinions ahead of public board meetings.
Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Requiring board packets to be posted two full business days before a public meeting, rather than on 7:45 a.m on the third business day before a public meeting;
(2) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and
(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1651, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1651, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor,
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____________________________ JACKSON D. SAYAMA, Chair |
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