Office of Information Practices

S Memo 18-5
June 28, 2018
Public Testimony

The Kaua’i County Council (Council) violated the Sunshine Law’s requirement that “all interested persons” be given “an opportunity to present public testimony” on any agenda item through a councilmember’s discussion of the agenda item prior to allowing public testimony, and through the same councilmember’s effort to prevent a member of the public from presenting testimony that he found objectionable.  See HRS § 92-3 (2012).  However, OIP’s review of the transcript of the meeting indicated that no member of the public was ultimately prevented from presenting the oral testimony he or she wished to present, so OIP found that the violations did not significantly impair the public’s ability to influence the Council’s discussion of the agenda item.