Office of Information Practices

The Sunshine Law is Hawaii’s open meetings law. It governs the manner in which all state and county boards must conduct their official business. The Office of Information Practices (“OIP”) has been the agency in charge of administering the Sunshine Law since 1998.

The Sunshine Law is codified at part I of chapter 92, Hawaii Revised Statutes. See below for an unofficial version of the law.

The Law
Chapter 92: Public Agency Meetings and Records

NOTE:  Act 64, SLH 2017 (HB165, HD1, SD2, CD1), effective July 1, 2018, requires board packets to be open for public inspection, revises how meeting notices are to be filed, provides a new option for the recordation of meeting minutes, and makes other changes.   For more details, see the May 1, 2017 What’s New.

Act 64, SLH 2017 (HB 165, HD1, SD2, CD1) – Sunshine Law, new provisions that will go into effect on July 1, 2018.

• Sunshine Law changes:  training outline
• Sunshine Law changes:  training script

Rules
Rules

Sunshine Law Guide
Open Meetings: Guide to “The “Sunshine Law” for State and County Boards – rev September 2016
Open Meetings: Guide to “The Sunshine Law” for Neighborhood Boards – rev September 2016

Basic Sunshine Law Training Video
2-part “Basic Sunshine Law” video and training materials, approx. 1.5 hours.
(For a transcript, please contact OIP.)

Sunshine Law Test
The state Office of Information Practices (OIP) invites you to test your knowledge of Hawaii’s Sunshine Law requiring open public meetings. Certification is given for a passing score (70%) at the end of the test. There are ten questions (multiple choice and true/false), randomly chosen, about the following areas: (1) minutes, (2) meetings & testimony, (3) closed meetings, (4) outside a meeting, and/or (5) notice and agenda.

Additional Sunshine Law Guidance:

• Who Board Members Can Talk to and When:
  Quick Review:  Who Board Members Can Talk to and When, Part 1 – July 2013
  Quick Review:  Who Board Members Can Talk to and When, Part 2 – rev May 2014
  Quick Review:  Who Board Members Can Talk to and When, Part 3 – August 2013
  Quick Review:  Roundtable Discussions with Multiple Boards Subject to the Sunshine Law – March 2017
• Meeting Notices and Agendas
  Quick Review: Sunshine Law Meeting Notice Requirements – May 2015
  Agenda Guidance for Sunshine Law Boards – Nov. 2011 (note: the Public Meeting Notice Checklist attached at the end of the guidance is the updated June 2016 version)
  
  State Calendar
  Visit the State Calendar to view meeting notices of state boards and commissions. With the calendar you can select a single agency or select “ALL” to see a calendar of all meetings. Please note: the State Calendar is maintained by the Department of Accounting and General Services.Executive Memo 11-11 – Nov. 2011
  
  Quick Review: Continuance of a Meeting Under the Sunshine Law – Jan. 2014
  
  Hawaii Supreme Court Sunshine Law Decision in Kanahele v. Maui County Council
  Regarding meeting continuances and board communications.
• Meeting Minutes
  Quick Review: Sunshine Law Requirements for Meeting Minutes – Dec. 2012
• Audio- or Videoconferenced Meetings
  Quick Review: Audio- or Videoconferenced Meetings – June 2016
  
• State Legislative Issues and Measures
  Quick Review: Sunshine Law Options to Address State Legislative Issues and Measures – Jan. 2015

Sunshine Law Forms for Boards:

• Public Meeting Notice Checklist (pdf) – rev June 2016
• Request for OIP’s Concurrence for a Limited Meeting (11/11) (MS Word) – fillable form
• Notice of Continuance of Meeting (MS Word) – Jan. 2014
• Checklist and County Council’s Request to Waive Videotaping of a Meeting
           as Guests of a Board or Community Group (MS Word – fillable form) – Mar. 2015
• Checklist and County Council’s Request to Waive Videotaping of a Meeting
           as Guests of a Board or Community Group (pdf – fillable form) – Mar. 2015

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  APPEALS:

  Guide to Appeals to the Office of Information Practices
  This guide, in a question and answer format, provides an introduction to the process of administrative appeals to the Office of Information Practices (OIP) from government agency decisions under the Uniform Information Practices Act (UIPA), the Sunshine Law, and certain decisions of the State Department of Taxation to grant or deny access to their records. 

  2013 Law and Administrative Rules Governing Appeal Procedures of Hawaii’s Office of Information Practices 
  A law review article by OIP Director Cheryl Kakazu Park and Staff Attorney Jennifer Brooks first published at 36 University of Hawai’i Law Review 271 (Winter 2014), which explains the administrative rules regarding appeals to OIP in UIPA and Sunshine Law cases, as well as the law allowing agencies to appeal to the courts from OIP’s decisions.

  Rules