HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0404.001 2012-2014 Margaret Wille Phone No. Hilo: (808)961-8027
Council Member ....(Pl.::::: �+p'•., Phone No. Waimea: (808) 887-2043
District 9-North and South Kohala "„�y��'' Fax No.: (808)887-2072
•� �%"- ���•I; E-Mail: mwille @co.hawaii.hi.us
HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL
County of Hawai'i
Hawaii County Building Holomua Center West Hawaii Civic Center Bldg.A
25,l upuni Street 64-1067 Mamalahoa Highway, Suite C-5 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy.
Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Waimea, Hawaii 96743 Kailua-Kona, Hawaii,96740
N
CM
1..4J C)
40, >C)
t
TO: J Yoshimoto, Chair —o . ._„`I--
And Members of the Hawai`i County Council ,.....
a
FROM: ,(alwMargaret Wille, Council Member 1 °`
DATE: 1/ September 3, 2013
SUBJECT: HRS 92-2.5
Please find attached a copy of HRS 92-2.5 for reference during the Communication 404
discussion at the September 4, 2013 Public Safety and Mass Transit Committee meeting.
Thank you.
MW/dh
att
Comm. No., 40 if' I
Serving the Interests o f the People o f Our Island R e f.T o: P 1!E 51 1.1 L
Hawai`i County Is An Equal Opportunity Provider And Employer Ref. Date.Sfa0 4 7 11
X92-2 . 5 Permitted interactions of members . (a) Two
members of a board may discuss between themselves matters
relating to official board business to enable them to
perform their duties faithfully, as long as no commitment
to vote is made or sought and the two members do not
constitute a quorum of their board.
(b) Two or more members of a board, but less than the
number of members which would constitute a quorum for the
board, may be assigned to :
( 1) Investigate a matter relating to the official
business of their board; provided that :
(A) The scope of the investigation and the scope
of each member ' s authority are defined at a
meeting of the board;
(B) All resulting findings and recommendations
are presented to the board at a meeting of
the board; and
(C) Deliberation and decisionmaking on the matter
investigated, if any, occurs only at a duly
noticed meeting of the board held subsequent
to the meeting at which the findings and
recommendations of the investigation were
presented to the board; or
(2 ) Present, discuss, or negotiate any position which
the board has adopted at a meeting of the board;
provided that the assignment is made and the
scope of each member ' s authority is defined at a
meeting of the board prior to the presentation,
discussion, or negotiation.
(c) Discussions between two or more members of a
board, but less than the number of members which would
constitute a quorum for the board, concerning the selection
of the board ' s officers may be conducted in private without
limitation or subsequent reporting.
(d) Board members present at a meeting that must be
canceled for lack of quorum or terminated pursuant to
section 92-3 . 5 (c) may nonetheless receive testimony and
presentations on items on the agenda and question the
testifiers or presenters; provided that :
(1) Deliberation or decisionmaking on any item, for
which testimony or presentations are received,
occurs only at a duly noticed meeting of the
board held subsequent to the meeting at which the
testimony and presentations were received;
(2 ) The members present shall create a record of the
oral testimony or presentations in the same
manner as would be required by section 92-9 for
testimony or presentations heard during a meeting
of the board; and
(3) Before its deliberation or decisionmaking at a
subsequent meeting, the board shall :
(A) Provide copies of the testimony and
presentations received at the canceled
meeting to all members of the board; and
(B) Receive a report by the members who were
present at the canceled or terminated
meeting about the testimony and
presentations received.
(e) Two or more members of a board, but less than the
number of members which would constitute a quorum for the
board, may attend an informational meeting or presentation
on matters relating to official board business, including a
meeting of another entity, legislative hearing, convention,
seminar, or community meeting; provided that the meeting or
presentation is not specifically and exclusively organized
for or directed toward members of the board. The board
members in attendance may participate in discussions,
including discussions among themselves; provided that the
discussions occur during and as part of the informational
meeting or presentation; and provided further that no
commitment relating to a vote on the matter is made or
sought .
At the next duly noticed meeting of the board, the
board members shall report their attendance and the matters
presented and discussed that related to official board
business at the informational meeting or presentation.
( f) Discussions between the governor and one or more
members of a board may be conducted in private without
limitation or subsequent reporting; provided that the
discussion does not relate to a matter over which a board
is exercising its adjudicatory function .
(g) Discussions between two or more members of a
board and the head of a department to which the board is
administratively assigned may be conducted in private
without limitation; provided that the discussion is limited
to matters specified in section 26-35 .
(h) Communications, interactions, discussions,
investigations, and presentations described in this section
are not meetings for purposes of this part . [L 1996, c 267 ,
§2 ; am L 2005, c 84 , §1; am L 2012, c 177 , §1 ]
Law Journals and Reviews
Hawaii ' s Sunshine Law Compliance Criteria . 26 UH L.
Rev. 21 .
Case Notes
Although subsection (a) does not expressly preclude city
counsel members from engaging in serial one-on-one
conversations, when council members engaged in a series of
one-on-one conversations relating to a particular item of
council business, under §92-5 (b) , the spirit of the open
meeting requirement was circumvented and the strong policy
of having public bodies deliberate and decide its business
in view of the public was thwarted and frustrated. 117 H .
1 (App. ) , 175 P. 3d 111 .