Office of Information Practices

Opinion Ltr. 25-01
December 19, 2024
Executive Sessions; Adequacy of Agendas;
Discussion of Topics Not on Agendas

The Public First Law Center questioned whether the Honolulu Police Commission (Commission) was violating the Sunshine Law in its meetings, by failing to include sufficiently detailed purposes on its meeting notices for executive meetings anticipated in advance; failing generally to include sufficiently detailed agenda items on meeting notices and to list topics actually discussed at meetings; and engaging in executive discussions not allowed under the Sunshine Law.

Section 92-7(a), HRS, requires that meeting notices include an agenda of all items to be discussed, including items to be discussed in executive session.  OIP found that the Commission was using catch-all agenda entries to discuss topics that were not specifically listed on its agenda, and concluded that the Sunshine Law did not allow the Commission to do so.

OIP also found that the Commission was using a catch-all listing of all executive session purposes potentially applicable to the Commission in lieu of stating the specific purpose or purposes it reasonably believed allowed each executive session agenda item to be discussed in executive session.  OIP concluded that this practice violated the Sunshine Law because section 92-7(a), HRS, requires that boards give notice of the purpose of an executive meeting when anticipated in advance.

OIP concluded that the Commission’s brief executive discussion of legislative bills (specifically, that it would defer discussing them until the next meeting) did not fall within an authorized executive session purpose.  OIP further noted that the Commission’s executive session minutes were inadequate, and largely failed to reflect the Commission’s executive session discussions; and that the Commission’s executive session discussion of other topics likewise did not appear to fall under any executive session purpose.

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