ALOHA!
Welcome to the website of the Office of Information Practices (OIP), whose mission is
“ensuring open government while protecting individual privacy.”
OIP administers two laws to promote open and transparent government in Hawai’i:
- the Uniform Information Practices Act (UIPA), HRS Chapter 92F, which requires open access to government records, and
- the Sunshine Law, part I of HRS Chapter 92, which requires open public meetings.
Both laws are intended to open up governmental processes to public scrutiny and participation by requiring government business to be conducted as transparently as possible, while balancing personal privacy rights guaranteed under the Hawaii State Constitution.
OIP provides uniform interpretation, advice, and training on these laws to nearly all of Hawaii’s state and county agencies and boards and to the general public. OIP renders advice and assistance on questions concerning the public’s right to access to government records or meetings, and also provides training to help agencies comply with the laws. Although the public has the right to go to court without having to involve OIP, it is not necessary to hire attorneys or observe judicial formalities to obtain OIP’s assistance, and OIP’s free and informal proceedings are not subject to the contested case procedures of HRS Chapter 91.
To explain the open government laws’ requirements, OIP has training tools and guides readily available on this website. Training materials and OIP’s annual reports are posted on this website and there are links to other open government agencies around the world. In the What’s New section, OIP regularly provides updates on its activities and has links to open government news from around the world. To begin or stop receiving OIP’s e-mailed What’s New updates, please e-mail [email protected].
Through OIP’s Attorney of the Day service, members of the public or government agencies can e-mail [email protected] or call (808) 586-1400 to receive (usually within 24 hours) general, non-binding advice regarding the UIPA or Sunshine Law. If further action is necessary, OIP may conduct an investigation. When access to a public record has been denied by a government agency, the requester may file an appeal with OIP. OIP also renders formal or informal opinions, which are enforceable by the courts. OIP’s opinions, including a searchable subject matter index for UIPA opinions, and a searchable subject matter index for Sunshine Law opinions, can be found on this website, along with the laws, rules, and various forms.
In addition to the UIPA and Sunshine Law, OIP administers the Records Report System (RRS), a computerized database (without the actual records) describing the more than 29,000 record titles of the various types of government records maintained by state and county agencies that may be available for public access. OIP also trains and assists agencies to use the UIPA Record Request Log and uploads their Log summaries to the State’s centralized website at data.hawaii.gov.
Through this website, you have access to a wealth of open government information and OIP is able to cost-effectively and efficiently share the knowledge of its experienced staff members to encourage greater awareness of and compliance with Hawaii’s UIPA and Sunshine Law. For an overview of the website’s features, click on this link. Thank you for visiting OIP’s website and we hope that you will find most of the answers to your open government questions here.
If you require an auxiliary aid or accommodation due to a disability, please contact (808) 586-1400 or e-mail [email protected]. OIP will strive to return your initial call or e-mail by the end of the next business day.
NOTE: Early in 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UIPA was temporarily suspended in its entirety by an emergency proclamation of Governor David Ige. Because the UIPA was suspended in its entirety, OIP’s powers and duties found in part IV of chapter 92F, HRS, were also suspended. Subsequent proclamations restored OIP’s powers and duties found in part IV of the UIPA, except that the UIPA and OIP’s rules were “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.” On August 5, 2021, Governor Ige issued a proclamation that contained no suspension of the UIPA, and all subsequent COVID-19 proclamations have not contained any UIPA suspensions. This means that the UIPA and all of its deadlines have been in full effect since August 5, 2021.
The Sunshine Law, part I of chapter 92, HRS, had also been partially suspended since early 2020 in response to the COVID-19 emergency. The last emergency proclamation containing a Sunshine Law suspension expired on March 25, 2022.
The Sunshine Law is now in full effect, including the amendments made by the Hawaii State Legislature during the pandemic. On January 1, 2022, Act 220 (2021 Regular Session) became effective. Act 220 made permanent changes to the Sunshine Law to allow remote meetings that had been permitted through the emergency proclamations during the pandemic. Boards are now required to have at least one in-person meeting site for remote meetings where the public can attend and testify. Boards and board staff are urged to review OIP’s summary of Act 220 and OIP’s recently revised website training materials on the Sunshine Law’s new requirements.
OIP cannot accept appeals based on causes of action dependent on alleged violations of the UIPA or Sunshine Law that occurred during their respective suspension periods.