Bill Text: HI HB2597 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Sunshine Law; Testimony; Quorum; Meetings; Community Meetings; Conferences; Social Media; Permitted Interaction; Notice; State Calendar; Lieutenant Governor; Uniform Information Practices Act

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-02-13 - (H) The committee(s) on JUD recommend(s) that the measure be deferred. [HB2597 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2012-HB2597-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2597
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO OPEN GOVERNMENT.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 

     SECTION 1.  Section 92-2.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§92-2.5  Permitted interactions of members.  (a)  Two members of a board may discuss between themselves matters relating to official board business to enable them to perform their duties faithfully, as long as no commitment to vote is made or sought and the two members do not constitute a quorum of their board.

     (b)  Two or more members of a board, but less than the number of members which would constitute a quorum for the board, may be assigned to:

     (1)  Investigate a matter relating to the official business of their board; provided that:

         (A)  The scope of the investigation and the scope of each member's authority are defined at a meeting of the board;

         (B)  All resulting findings and recommendations are presented to the board at a meeting of the board; and

         (C)  Deliberation and decisionmaking on the matter investigated, if any, occurs only at a duly noticed meeting of the board held subsequent to the meeting at which the findings and recommendations of the investigation were presented to the board; or

     (2)  Present, discuss, or negotiate any position which the board has adopted at a meeting of the board; provided that the assignment is made and the scope of each member's authority is defined at a meeting of the board prior to the presentation, discussion, or negotiation.

     (c)  Discussions between two or more members of a board, but less than the number of members which would constitute a quorum for the board, concerning the selection of the board's officers may be conducted in private without limitation or subsequent reporting.

     (d)  Board members present at a meeting that must be canceled for lack of quorum or terminated pursuant to section 92-3.5(c) may nonetheless receive testimony and presentations on items on the agenda and question the testifiers or presenters; provided that:

     (1)  Deliberation or decisionmaking on any item, for which testimony or presentations are received, occurs only at a duly noticed meeting of the board held subsequent to the receipt of the testimony and presentations;

     (2)  The members present shall create a record of the oral testimony or presentations in the same manner as would be required by section 92-9 for testimony or presentations heard during a meeting of the board; and

     (3)  Before its deliberation or decisionmaking at a subsequent meeting, the board shall:

         (i)  Provide copies of the testimony and presentations received at the canceled meeting to all members of the board; and

        (ii)  Receive a report by the members that were present at the canceled meeting about the testimony and presentations received.

     (e)  Two or more members of a board, but fewer than the number of members necessary to constitute a quorum for the board, may attend an informational meeting or presentation on matters relating to official board business, including a meeting of another entity, legislative hearing, convention, seminar, or community meeting; provided that the meeting or presentation is not specifically and exclusively organized for or directed toward members of the board.  The board members in attendance may participate in discussions, including discussions among themselves; provided that the discussions occur during and as part of the informational meeting or presentation; and provided further that there is no commitment made relating to a vote on the matter.  The board members, at the next duly noticed meeting of the board, shall report their attendance and the matters presented and discussed that related to official board business at the informational meeting or presentation.

     (f)  Two or more members of a board, but fewer than the number of members necessary to constitute a quorum for the board, may participate in a discussion on a social media website about matters relating to official board business; provided that no commitment to vote is made or sought and the discussion on the social media website:

     (1)  Is accessible at any time to any member of the public with an Internet connection,

     (2)  Allows participation by interested members of the public, and

     (3)  Remains available for public viewing for a reasonable period of time on the social media website.

Upon request by any person, the board shall provide a list of all board members using social media and their social media addresses or identifications.  For the purpose of this subsection, "social media website" means a website that facilitates social interaction among unlimited numbers of persons for the purposes of friendship, meeting other persons, or information exchanges, and allows persons using the website to communicate with other users.

     [(d)] (g)  Discussions between the governor and one or more members of a board may be conducted in private without limitation or subsequent reporting; provided that the discussion does not relate to a matter over which a board is exercising its adjudicatory function.

     [(e)] (h)  Discussions between two or more members of a board and the head of a department to which the board is administratively assigned may be conducted in private without limitation; provided that the discussion is limited to matters specified in section 26-35.

     [(f)] (i)  Communications, interactions, discussions, investigations, and presentations described in this section are not meetings for purposes of this part."

     SECTION 2.  Section 92-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§92-7  Notice.  (a)  The board shall give written public notice of any regular, special, emergency, or rescheduled meeting, or any executive meeting when anticipated in advance. The notice shall include an agenda which lists all of the items to be considered at the forthcoming meeting, the date, time, and place of the meeting, and in the case of an executive meeting the purpose shall be stated.  The means specified by this section shall be the only means required for giving notice under this part notwithstanding any law to the contrary.

     (b)  [The] At least six calendar days before the meeting, the board shall file the notice in the [office of the lieutenant governor or the appropriate county clerk's office, and in the] board's office for public inspection, [at least six calendar days before the meeting.  The notice shall also be posted] and shall also post the notice at the site of the meeting whenever feasible.  At least six calendar days before the meeting, a state board shall post the notice on the electronic calendar maintained on the State of Hawaii's Internet website, and a county board shall file the notice either by posting on the electronic calendar maintained on the State of Hawaii's or county's Internet website or in the appropriate county clerk's office.  In the event that a board is unable to post its notice on an electronic calendar because of an interruption in service that prevents access to the electronic calendar, the board shall file the notice in the office of the lieutenant governor if a state board, or in the appropriate county clerk's office if a county board.  The office of the lieutenant governor or the appropriate county clerk's office shall then post the notice on the state or county electronic calendar as soon as service is restored.

     (c)  If the [written public] notice is [filed in the office of the lieutenant governor or] posted on the state or county calendar or filed in the appropriate county clerk's office less than six calendar days before the meeting, the [lieutenant governor] board's electronic notice shall be rejected by the electronic calendar or the appropriate county clerk shall immediately notify the chairperson of the board, or the director of the department within which the board is established or placed, of the tardy filing of the meeting notice.  If there is a dispute as to whether a notice was timely filed on an electronic calendar, a printout of the electronically time-stamped agenda shall be conclusive evidence of the filing date.  [The] If a meeting notice is filed late, the meeting shall be canceled as a matter of law, and the chairperson of the board or the department director shall ensure that a notice canceling the meeting is posted in the board's office and at the place of the meeting, and no meeting shall be held.

     (d)  No board shall change the agenda, once filed, by adding items thereto without a two-thirds recorded vote of all members to which the board is entitled; provided that no item shall be added to the agenda if it is of reasonably major importance and action thereon by the board will affect a significant number of persons.  Items of reasonably major importance not decided at a scheduled meeting shall be considered only at a meeting continued to a reasonable day and time.

     (e)  The board shall maintain a list of names and addresses of persons who request notification of meetings and shall mail or electronically transmit a copy of the notice to such persons at their last recorded address no later than the time the agenda is [filed] posted under subsection (b)."

     SECTION 3.  Section 92-8, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§92-8  Emergency meetings.  (a)  If a board finds that an imminent peril to the public health, safety, or welfare requires a meeting in less time than is provided for in section 92-7, the board may hold an emergency meeting provided that:

     (1)  The board states in writing the reasons for its findings;

     (2)  Two-thirds of all members to which the board is entitled agree that the findings are correct and an emergency exists;

     (3)  An emergency agenda and the findings are posted or filed [with the office of the lieutenant governor or the appropriate county clerk's office, and in the board's office; and] as required for notices by section 92-7; and

     (4)  Persons requesting notification on a regular basis are contacted by mail, [or] telephone, or electronically as soon as practicable.

     (b)  If an unanticipated event requires a board to take action on a matter over which it has supervision, control, jurisdiction, or advisory power, within less time than is provided for in section 92-7 to notice and convene a meeting of the board, the board may hold an emergency meeting to deliberate and decide whether and how to act in response to the unanticipated event; provided that:

     (1)  The board states in writing the reasons for its finding that an unanticipated event has occurred and that an emergency meeting is necessary and the attorney general if a state board, or the county counsel if a county board, concurs that the conditions necessary for an emergency meeting under this subsection exist;

     (2)  Two-thirds of all members to which the board is entitled agree that the conditions necessary for an emergency meeting under this subsection exist;

     (3)  [The finding that an unanticipated event has occurred and that an emergency meeting is necessary and the agenda for the emergency meeting under this subsection are filed with the office of the lieutenant governor or the appropriate county clerk's office, and in the board's office;] An emergency agenda and the findings are posted or filed as required for notices by section 92-7;

     (4)  Persons requesting notification on a regular basis are contacted by mail, [or] telephone, or electronically as soon as practicable; and

     (5)  The board limits its action to only that action which must be taken on or before the date that a meeting would have been held, had the board noticed the meeting pursuant to section 92-7.

     (c)  For purposes of this part, an "unanticipated event" means:

     (1)  An event which members of the board did not have sufficient advance knowledge of or reasonably could not have known about from information published by the media or information generally available in the community;

     (2)  A deadline established by a legislative body, a court, or a federal, state, or county agency beyond the control of a board; or

     (3)  A consequence of an event for which reasonably informed and knowledgeable board members could not have taken all necessary action."

     SECTION 4.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2012.

 

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________
	BY REQUEST

 

 

Report Title:

Sunshine Law; Testimony; Quorum; Meetings; Community Meetings; Conferences; Social Media; Permitted Interaction; Notice; State Calendar; Lieutenant Governor; Uniform Information Practices Act

 

Description:

Allows board members to hear testimony for a meeting canceled for lack of quorum, to attend informational meetings, and to discuss board business via social media; provides for electronic meeting notices.

 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.