HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0048.001 2018-2020 P/COUNCil
COUNTY CLERK
COUNTY OF HAWAII
Nicole Nash 2019 JAN 23 Ali 9. t�
Public Testimony Re: Resolution No. 29-19, County Bill No. 11
Council Meeting 9:00 AM January 23, 2019
This written testimony is presented before all members of the Hawai'i County Council today,
Wednesday, January 23, 2019 at Council Meeting to stall the progress of Council Bill No. 11,
in order to require the Council to act in compliance with Title II of the Americans with
Disabilities Act (1990), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996
(HIPAA), to safeguard the constitutional rights of citizens, and to provide the public with
adequate opportunity to submit written and oral testimony to the Council about this
Bill. Delaying passage of the Bill until the next Council meeting, in February 2019, will present
the public with a one-time-only window of transparency that is and must be consistent with
the functions and legitimacy of a legislative body.
Notice provided to the public by the Council is not adequate to allow sufficient time for the
public to be notified and informed about a vital public matter that will directly impact the
lives and privacy of the citizenry in this jurisdiction. The Bill 11 disclosures will broaden police
powers to what may be an impermissible scope in an unknown exercise of investigative
authority and use of police force. Bill 11 will result in the unfair scrutiny of persons with
disabilities whose profile information may be linked with government records disclosed by
the Hawai'i Police Department, and;
The conjoining of government information from both departments may disadvantage and
prejudice those persons who are on file with Hawai'i Department of Health, those who have
a disability and who are protected by state and federal laws;those who have been treated for
a physical or cognitive impairment or a medical condition here in the State, and may endanger
the lives of US veterans and those diagnosed with mental illness. The method of transfer may
not comport with HIPAA law compliance.
The proposed transfer fails prima facie and will fail to survive constitutional scrutiny in the
long-term. The Bill streamlines an abridgment of 4th Amendment privacy rights, and is
premised upon disregard for substantive and procedural Due Process rights. Conjoining,
concealing and then mining a database for an ill-defined objective is a violation of Equal
Protection law that protects the rights of disabled persons and minorities, on whom the law
may have a cumulative disparate impact. That's for starters.
Those affected by the new system and program method will need to obtain more information
about anyproposed breach and the content of personal records that will be disclosed, before
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State Department of Health, Office of Health Status Monitoring, may implement a new law,
cut from whole cloth, to streamline a method for the Hawai'i Police Department to transfer
and thereby disclose government records to the State Department of Health.
Comm. No. itZ'
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Ref. Date .
Please reference a Department of Finance Request for Council Action by Police Department
contact Lt. John Briski dated 12/10/2018 to enter into an agreement with the State
Department of Health, Office of Health Status Monitoring, to allow records access, wherein
the Police request the bill be waived from Finance Committee review, and be placed on the
January 9, 2019 Council agenda in order to expedite the receipt of funds. Bill No. 11 was not
heard in Committee, and was rushed through the Council Finance Department. Please
reference County of Hawai'i, Finance Department correspondence dated December 19, 2018,
Re: Operating Budget. The rules that govern County business by law were temporarily
suspended on the date of the letter, which is signed by Deanna S. Sako, Director of Finance,
to authorize to submit the Bill after the noon deadline to meet the waiver request-date, in
time for the scheduled Council meeting.
None of the above demonstrate any willingness on the part of Hawai'i Police Department or
the Finance Department and sitting Council to acknowledge the public's right to know and to
be informed of any changes to the law as they may directly influence governance, police
powers,the rights of criminal defendants, and the opportunities, rights and privacy of disabled
persons, and citizen rights.
In accordance with a notice posted at the County Clerk's office, outlining the requirements of
Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the County of Hawai'i will not
discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities in its services, programs and
activities. I, Nicole Nash, a resident of Hilo, Hawai'i, with standing to object, hereby object to
Bill No. 11 on aforementioned grounds, and on the legal basis that a determination, which
may be used to assess current compliance with HIPAA, and to provide strategies to implement
proposed modifications to police practice, in order to ensure full compliance with HIPAA and
constitutional requirements, was not and is not proposed as a rider to this Bill.
The passage of the Bill must therefore be postponed until further notice. I am available to
answer any questions during a discussion in a subsequent, future meeting, for which I can be
more prepared. Thank you very much.
Nicole Nash
300 East Lanikaula Street
Hilo, Hawai'i 96720
NicoleCNash@gmail.com
(570) 905-7088 cell
DRAFT 8:40 PM HST 1/22/2019
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