Office of Information Practices

U-Memo 14-3
December 9, 2013
Advisory Committee Lists 

Requester sought an opinion on whether the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), Regulated Industries Complaints Office (RICO), must disclose the list of its Advisory Committee members for the real estate profession (ACM list) under Part II of the UIPA.

OIP found that RICO’s legitimate government function of enforcing professional licensing laws would likely be frustrated if the ACM list is made public because the number of potential ACMs willing to serve would almost certainly decline.  The ACM list may be withheld under section 92F-13(3), HRS, which does not require disclosure of government records that, by their nature, must be confidential in order to avoid the frustration of a legitimate government function.