Office of Information Practices

Opinion Ltr. No. F25-06
March 27, 2025
Adequacy of Search for Personal Records

Requester asked whether the County of Hawaii Department of Parks and Recreation (Parks) fully responded to Requester’s request for emails and a list of name-calling that Parks attributed to Requester before the Hawaii County Ethics Board (Ethics Board).  Parks provided Requester a copy of the exhibits Parks had previously provided to the Ethics Board, which consisted almost entirely of emails from Requester to Parks.

OIP concluded that Parks had properly responded to Requester’s request as a personal record request under part III of the UIPA, since part III did not require Parks to compile a list of name-calling by Requester in other records or to create a new record of such name-calling, and that Parks had provided Requester all the records of name-calling that were “accessible” personal records.

OIP further concluded that part II of the UIPA did not require Parks to compile a list of name-calling by requester from the records it had provided to Requester or create a new record of name-calling not already set forth in its existing records.  Finally, OIP concluded that since Requester’s request was limited to emails and other name-calling that Parks had attributed to Requester before the Ethics Board, Parks had established based on its director’s actual knowledge that it had already provided Requester with all records of name-calling it had provided as evidence to the Ethics Board.  Parks therefore had no duty to make a further search for additional evidence of name-calling.

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