HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-04-03 Ltr from OIP re Council's Proposed Creation of Investigative Group to Investigate the Budget (Ad Hoc Committee)DAVIDY. IGE GOVERNOR
VIA EMAIL
STATE OF HAWAII OFFICE OF INFORMATION PRACTICES
NO. 1 CAPITOL DISTRICT BUILDING 250 SOUTH HOTEL STREET, SUITE 107 HONOLULU, HAWAl'I 96813 Telephone: (808) 586-1400 FAX: (808) 586-1412 E-MAIL: ,,11 l•.i\· .. 11 ,a;, www.oip.hawaii.gov
April 3, 2019
Joseph K. Kamelamela, Esq. Corporation Counsel, County of Hawaii
CHERYL KAKAZU PARK DIRECTOR
Re: Hawaii County Council's Proposed Creation of Investigative Group to Investigate the Budget (CORR 2019-04002-1)
Dear Mr. Kamelamela:
The Office of Information Practices (OIP) received your email dated April I, 2019, in which you asked for advice regarding potential Sunshine Law concerns raised by the Hawaii County Council's (Council) proposed creation of an investigative group to investigate the Hawaii County (County) budget. rm writing with general advice under the Sunshine Law, part I of chapter 92, Hawaii Revised Statutes (Sunshine Law) (HRS).
You indicated that the Council's Committee on Finance (Finance Committee) has formed a budget ad hoc committee (Ad Hoc Committee) of four members, i.e., less than a quorum of the Finance Committee's membership, for a proposed three phase review and analysis of the County budget. Based on our telephone discussion on April I, I understand that the Ad Hoc Committee was formed with the intent that it would operate as a permitted interaction group under section 92-2.S(b )(I), HRS, rather than as a temporary subcommittee holding open meetings, hearing publictestimony, keeping minutes, and otherwise following the Sunshine Law's open meeting requirementsin the same way the Finance Committee itself does for its own meetings. See OIP Op. Ltr. No. 03-07at 6 (a committee meeting is subject to the Sunshine Law like a meeting of the full board). You alsoindicated that in 2011, when a similar investigative group regarding the budget was proposed, thenCorporation Counsel Lincoln Ashida was advised by OIP Staff Attorney Lorna Aratani that even ifthe proposed investigative group met the statutory requirements for the relevant permittedinteraction, it would arguably be prohibited under section 92-5, HRS, as a use of a permittedinteraction to circumvent the spirit or requirements of the Sunshine Law. (Although OIP"s formerparalegal Dawn Shimabukuro sent the email from OIP"s account, the advice was provided and signedby Ms. Aratani.)
The schedule for the Ad Hoc Committee described in your email would have the Ad Hoc Committee reporting back to the Finance Committee three times regarding each of three phases of its assigned subject matter, with discussion by the Finance Committee at a separate meeting after each