94-08
Posted on May 12, 1994 in Formal OpinionsOpinion Letter No. 94-08
May 12, 1994
Assistant Police Chief Exam Questions Confidential
[OIP Op. Ltr. No. 05-03 partially overrules this opinion to the extent that it states or implies that the UIPA’s privacy exception in section 92F-13(1), HRS, either prohibits public disclosure or mandates confidentiality.]
Exam and interview questions asked of candidates for promotion to assistant police chief are protected from public disclosure under the UIPA’s “frustration of a legitimate government function” exception because the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) will likely reuse the questions. In contrast, the rating guidelines used to make the promotion must be made public because no UIPA exceptions apply. In the applications of the unsuccessful candidates for promotion, all information that would result in the “likelihood of actual identification” of these candidates must be kept confidential for privacy reasons. On the other hand, application information — name, education, training and current position at HPD — about the candidate selected for the promotion must be made public. The score worksheets must also be made public after the candidates’ names are deleted.