HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0753.002 2010-2012BRITTANY SMART
Councilmember
Hawai `i County Council
District 6
Upper Puna, Ka `u, South Kona
DATE: July 17, 2012
Hawaii County Council
County of Hawai `i
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, Hawai `i 96720
TO: Dominic Yagong, Council Chair
And Members of the Hawai`i County Council
FROM: Brittany Smart, Councilmember
Phone: (808) 961 -8263
Fax: (808) 961 -8912
bsmart@co.hawaii.hi.us
SUBJECT: Relating to Communication 753: Social Media Policy for the Legislative Branch
Please find attached additional information from Ms. Jennifer Z. Brooks, Staff Attorney in the Office
of Information Practices (OIP), regarding the Social Media Policy for the Legislative Branch. Please
refer this matter to the Governmental Relations Committee (GRC) meeting for the July 18, 2012
agenda.
Thank you.
BS /jk
Serving the Interests of the People of Our Island
Hawai `i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer
Comm. No 753 .2
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Ref. Date JUL 1 8 zo t
Page 1 of 2
Knippling, Jenny
From: Jennifer.Z.Brooks @hawaii.gov
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2012 4:09 PM
To: Knippling, Jenny
Subject: Re: HI County Legislative Branch: Social Media Policy
I am responding to you as Attorney of the Day, so this e-mail represents general advice rather than a
formal legal opinion of the full office. After reviewing this latest version of the Social Media Policy, which
is similar to the previous version I'd seen, my comments remain the same as they were for the
teleconference last month.
Specifically, I notice that the policy takes steps to address the issue of how records of social media
communication will be treated by specifying (in section 6) that communications through social media are
considered public record, and (in section 4) requiring a division or office using social media to consider
how it will preserve that content and requiring the Media Assistant to ensure that the content is archived.
I believe this proactive approach will be a great help toward ensuring that the communications taking
place through social media will be preserved as part of the public record.
I also notice that (in section 3) the policy specifically requires that all use of social media by elected
officials be consistent with the permitted interaction provisions of the Sunshine Law, set out in section 92-
2.5, HRS. This reminder of the law's requirements regarding communication among Council members is
a good way to help to ensure that communications through social media use remain compliant with the
Sunshine Law.
OIP doesn't have any suggestions for improvement. Thank you for asking for our input on the policy.
Aloha,
Jennifer Brooks
Jennifer Z. Brooks
Staff Attorney
Office of Information Practices
From: "Knippling, Jenny" <jknippling @co.hawaii.hi.us>
To: <jennifer.z.brooks @hawaii.gov>
Cc: "Councilmember Brittany Smart" <hccdistrict6 @gmail.com>
Date: 07/17/2012 01:57 PM
Subject: HI County Legislative Branch: Social Media Policy
«Social Media Policy 2012- 07- 16.pdf»
Aloha,
Please see the attached document and provide an opinion from OIP as soon as possible. This
will be up for discussion at the next GRC meeting tomorrow at 1:30PM.
Mahalo,
7/17/2012