06-01
Posted on Feb 28, 2006 in Formal OpinionsOpinion Letter No. 06-01
February 28, 2006
Public Testimony
[This opinion was affected by Act 264 of 2022. That act amended section 92-3, HRS, to prohibit boards from limiting public testimony “to the beginning of a board’s agenda or meeting,” and thus statutorily overruled this opinion to the extent that it concluded that the Sunshine Law allowed a board to hear all public testimony at the beginning of a meeting.]
The Housing and Community Development Authority asked OIP for an opinion on two issues regarding the public’s right to testify at a meeting subject to the Sunshine Law, part I of chapter 92, Hawaii Revised Statutes (“HRS”).
OIP concluded that public testimony on all agenda items may be taken at the beginning of a meeting; however, a board must allow a person to testify on as many of the agenda items as the person wishes. A testifier does not have the right to question board members under the guise of oral testimony.