92-26
Posted on Dec 23, 1992 in Formal OpinionsOpinion Letter No. 92-26
December 23, 1992
Convention Center Authority’s Report
[Please note that opinions discussing the deliberative process privilege have been materially affected by the Hawaii Supreme Court’s majority opinion in Peer News LLC v. City and County of Honolulu, 143 Haw. 472 (Dec. 21, 2018).]
The UIPA’s “frustration of a legitimate government function” exception permits the Convention Center Authority (Authority) to withhold access to its drafts and working papers in preparing its Report to the Legislature (Report), which set forth recommendations for potential convention center sites.
The OIP found that this exception applied to the Report in draft form because the draft is predecisional and deliberative, and its disclosure would result in the frustration of the Authority’s deliberative processes in preparing the Report. However, the OIP concluded that once the Authority approved and finalized the Report, the Authority must make the final Report available for public inspection and copying because its disclosure would not result in the frustration of either the Authority’s or the Legislature’s deliberations concerning the site of the new convention center.