Office of Information Practices

July 19, 2012

The state Office of Information Practices is pleased to announce that it has steadily decreased its case backlog for the second year in a row. OIP ended fiscal year 2012 on June 30, 2012, with 78 outstanding cases, a 9% decrease from the 84 cases outstanding in FY 2011, and a 64% decrease from the 121 cases outstanding in FY 2010. OIP issued 25 total opinions in FY 2012 (including two formal opinions), as compared to 33 in FY 2011 (including five formal opinions). The number of attorney of the day inquiries received by OIP increased to 937 in FY 2012, as compared to 822 in FY 2011.

Besides reducing its case backlog, OIP will continue its proactive efforts to provide training and guidance to government agencies to improve compliance with Hawaii’s open government laws and try to prevent problems from arising in the first place. As mentioned in earlier What’s New articles, OIP has updated its Sunshine Law Guide to reflect changes to the law that went into effect on July 1, 2012. OIP is also working on updates to its on-line training videos, as well as developing new materials, including continuing legal education programs.