Office of Information Practices

The State Office of Information Practices (OIP) has posted three new opinions that may be accessed via its Opinions page at oip.hawaii.gov.

In informal U Memo 23-01, OIP concluded that the Reapportionment Commission properly responded under the UIPA to a requester that it did not maintain copies of non-existent documents that included the home addresses of currently elected members of the State House of Representatives or State Senate.

In informal U Memo 23-02, OIP concluded that the Department of Agriculture properly withheld requested records that were part of an ongoing administrative proceeding at the time of the request, whether analyzed as a government record under the frustration exception of HRS section 92-13(3) or as a personal record under the ongoing administrative proceeding exemption of HRS section 92F-22(4).

In formal OIP Op. Ltr. No. F23-01, OIP considered multiple issues relating to an investigative permitted interaction group (PIG), a purported “informational meeting,” meetings held by interactive conference technology, board packets, and other alleged Sunshine Law violations.  OIP highly recommends reading this opinion, especially for its detailed discussion of investigative PIGs formed under HRS section 92-2.5(b)(1).

In light of this first formal opinion regarding PIGs since 2006, OIP has also updated its “”Quick Review: Who Board Members Can Talk to and When (Part 3),” which is posted on its Training page under the Sunshine Law materials.  Additionally, OIP has updated its searchable  Sunshine Subject Matter Index and its Table of Statutes that are found on its Opinions page to include its latest formal opinions.  In November, OIP reported that its searchable UIPA Subject Matter Index had also been updated.

For unbiased open government news, please check for archived copies of What’s New articles that are posted on OIP’s website at oip.hawaii.gov, or upon request, can be emailed to you.  To update your address or begin receiving these articles directly, please provide your email address to [email protected].  Also, if you would like to receive What’s New articles or attachments in a Word format, please contact OIP at (808) 586-1400 or [email protected].