HB130

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that public records laws are a critical mechanism to maintain government accountability and transparency and support citizen involvement in government decision-making. The real-world consequences of restricting access to government information can range from serious to routine but, in all cases, result in a less-informed citizenry.

The legislature further finds that this Act adopts the Freedom of Information Act standard to define waivers of fees for searching, reviewing, or segregating disclosable records when in the public interest. The federal standard provides a waiver in limited circumstances based on careful examination of various factors, including the subject matter of the request and identity of the requester. Case law under the Freedom of Information Act will provide guidance for interpreting the standard.

Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to:

(1) Impose a cap on charges for searching for, reviewing, and segregating government records; and

(2) Provide for a waiver of fees in certain circumstances when the public interest is served by a government record's disclosure.

SECTION 2. Section 92F-42, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§92F-42 Powers and duties of the office of information practices. The director of the office of information practices:

(1) Shall, upon request, review and rule on an agency denial of access to information or records, or an agency's granting of access; provided that any review by the office of information practices shall not be a contested case under chapter 91 and shall be optional and without prejudice to rights of judicial enforcement available under this chapter;

(2) Upon request by an agency, shall provide and make public advisory guidelines, opinions, or other information concerning that agency's functions and responsibilities;

(3) Upon request by any person, may provide advisory opinions or other information regarding that person's rights and the functions and responsibilities of agencies under this chapter;

(4) May conduct inquiries regarding compliance by an agency and investigate possible violations by any agency;

(5) May examine the records of any agency for the purpose of paragraphs (4) and (18) and seek to enforce that power in the courts of this State;

(6) May recommend disciplinary action to appropriate officers of an agency;

(7) Shall report annually to the governor and [~~the state~~] legislature on the activities and findings of the office of information practices, including recommendations for legislative changes;

(8) Shall receive complaints from and actively solicit the comments of the public regarding the implementation of this chapter;

(9) Shall review the official acts, records, policies, and procedures of each agency;

(10) Shall assist agencies in complying with the provisions of this chapter;

(11) Shall inform the public of the following rights of an individual and the procedures for exercising them:

(A) The right of access to records pertaining to the individual;

(B) The right to obtain a copy of records pertaining to the individual;

(D) The right to be informed of the uses and disclosures of records pertaining to the individual;

(E) The right to correct or amend records pertaining to the individual; and

(F) The individual's right to place a statement in a record pertaining to that individual;

(12) Shall adopt rules that set forth an administrative appeals structure [~~which~~] that provides for:

(A) Agency procedures for processing records requests;

(B) A direct appeal from the division maintaining the record; and

(13) Shall adopt rules that set forth the fees and other charges that may be imposed for searching, reviewing, or segregating disclosable records[~~, as well as to provide for a waiver of fees when the public interest would be served;~~]. The rules shall:

(A) Set forth fees not exceeding $5 per fifteen minutes or fraction thereof for the search for the record;

(B) Set forth fees not exceeding $7.50 per fifteen minutes or fraction thereof for the review and segregation of the record; and

(C) Provide for a waiver of fees when the public interest would be served by the record's disclosure; provided that the waiver shall require that the search for or review or segregation of records be provided at no charge to the requester if disclosure of the record is in the public interest because the disclosure is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government, is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester, and is not unreasonably burdensome. Factors to be considered when determining if the disclosure would serve the public interest include, but are not limited to:

(i) The subject of the request;

(ii) The informative value of the information to be disclosed;

(iii) The contribution to an understanding of the subject by the general public likely to result from disclosure;

(iv) The significance of the contribution to public understanding;

(v) The existence and magnitude of a commercial interest; and

(vi) The primary interest in disclosure;

(14) Shall adopt rules [~~which~~] that set forth uniform standards for the records collection practices of agencies;

(15) Shall adopt rules that set forth uniform standards for disclosure of records for research purposes;

(16) Shall have standing to appear in cases where the provisions of this chapter or part I of chapter 92 are called into question;

(17) Shall adopt, amend, or repeal rules pursuant to chapter 91 necessary for the purposes of this chapter; and

(18) Shall take action to oversee compliance with part I of chapter 92 by all state and county boards including:

(A) Receiving and resolving complaints;

(B) Advising all government boards and the public about compliance with chapter 92; and

SECTION 3. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	130
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII