OIP Announcement as of 10 DEC 2020
EMERGENCY ALERT:
On March 16, 2020, the Uniform Information Practices Act (Modified), chapter 92F, HRS (UIPA), was temporarily suspended in its entirety and the Sunshine Law, part I of chapter 92, HRS, was partially suspended by the Supplementary Proclamation of Governor Ige,
The March 16 Supplementary Proclamation was extended until May 31, 2020 by the Governor’s Sixth Supplementary Proclamation dated April 25, 2020. Because the UIPA was suspended in its entirety, OIP’s powers and duties found in part IV of chapter 92F, HRS, were also suspended.
On May 5, 2020, with the Governor’s Seventh Supplementary Proclamation for COVID-19 (see Exhibit H on pages 73-75), OIP’s powers and duties found in part IV of the UIPA were restored, except that the UIPA and OIP’s rules “are suspended to the extent they contain any deadlines for agencies, including deadlines for the OIP, relating to requests for government records and/or complaints to OIP.” The partial suspensions of the Sunshine Law and UIPA were continued in subsequent proclamations, the latest being the Governor’s Sixteenth Supplementary Proclamation (SP16) at Exhibit F, dated November 23, 2020, which continued the modified suspension through December 31, 2020.
As the COVID-19 virus has become a global pandemic and a serious threat to the health and welfare of our State’s population, the Governor’s orders were issued to give government the maximum flexibility to focus its attention and personnel resources on directly addressing the immediate situation at hand. When the situation is stabilized and there is proper leeway to redirect those resources, the partial suspension of these laws will be lifted.
In the meantime, with the substantial restoration of its powers and duties, OIP can now open certain new cases and issue opinions again. However, OIP still cannot accept appeals based on causes of action dependent on alleged violations of the portions of the UIPA and Sunshine Law that are suspended and therefore not in effect. Moreover, because agencies are currently not required to follow the deadlines for responses to OIP’s inquiries, case resolution may be delayed until after the laws and deadlines are fully reinstated.
Despite the suspension of the UIPA’s deadlines, Exhibit F of SP 16 clearly states that “[a]gencies must acknowledge receipt of UIPA requests. If a request is not acknowledged, the requester may ask the Office of Information Practices to verify that the agency received the UIPA Request.” (Emphasis added.) OIP may open a case to verify agency receipt of a record request, but requesters should still be aware that OIP does not maintain the records of other agencies and all deadlines for OIP and agencies have been suspended by SP16 Exhibit F. Therefore, requesters still may not receive the government records they are seeking from the agencies until a later date, unless they exercise their right to file court actions.
OIP has continued throughout this emergency period to provide its Attorney of the Day service, which promptly responds to Sunshine Law and UIPA questions. For fastest service, questions should be submitted by email to oip@hawaii.gov. While email remains the preferred method of contact, OIP can also be reached by phone at (808) 586-1400, fax at (808) 586-1412, or postal mail at 250 S. Hotel Street, Suite 107, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96813.
OIP also continues to provide updated guidance and open government news in its What’s New articles. If you are not already receiving these emails directly from OIP, you can ask to be added by providing your email address to oip@hawaii.gov. Archived copies of these articles are posted on the What’s New page at oip.hawaii.gov.
OIP thanks the public and government agencies for their patience and understanding during this challenging time. OIP urges government agencies and boards to also do what they can to keep the public informed and, to the extent possible, allow for remote participation at public meetings using technology, such as livestreaming, teleconferencing, or other forms of online virtual meetings. OIP’s Tips for Holding a Virtual Public Meeting and other guidance can be found on OIP’s Sunshine Law or Training pages.