Bill Text: HI SR80 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requesting The Office Of Information Practices To Explore A Trial Appeals Resolution Process With A Randomly Chosen Selection Of All Incoming Public Appeals.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-19 - The committee on GVO deferred the measure. [SR80 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2019-SR80-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	80
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the office of information practices to EXPLORE A TRIAL APPEALS resolution PROCESS WITH A RANDOMLY CHOSEN SELECTION OF ALL INCOMING PUBLIC APPEALS.

 

 

     WHEREAS, the Office of Information Practices is able to informally resolve most public questions, complaints, and appeals under the Uniform Information Practices Act and Sunshine Law without the Office issuing a formal enforceable ruling; and

 

     WHEREAS, some public appeals to the Office of Information Practices under the Uniform Information Practices Act and Sunshine Law cannot be resolved without the Office issuing a formal enforceable ruling; and

 

     WHEREAS, when public appeals cannot be resolved without a formal enforceable ruling by the Office of Information Practices, the Office normally prepares enforceable rulings on a first-come first-served basis; and

 

     WHEREAS, the preparation of formal enforceable rulings by the Office of Information Practices is time-consuming and expensive; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Office of Information Practices estimates that it will need three new positions costing $345,000 per year for at least two years to address its backlog of pending appeals that cannot be resolved without a formal enforceable ruling by the Office; and

 

     WHEREAS, unless additional resources are provided to the Office of Information Practices or unless the Office experiments and finds an effective way to modify its procedures, the Office of Information Practices will be unable to quickly resolve those incoming public appeals that require a formal enforceable ruling by the Office; and

 

     WHEREAS, experimenting with trial processes, new procedures, or revised practices can be a source of useful information, which can provide guidance for later changes or actions; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2019, that the Office of Information Practices is requested to explore a trial appeals resolution process with a randomly chosen selection of all incoming public appeals under the Uniform Information Practices Act and the Sunshine Law; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that for each appeal in the randomly chosen selection, but not for other appeals, the Office of Information Practices is requested to prepare short, informal, non-enforceable guidance within two weeks of receiving the final response of the agency and other parties involved; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that for each appeal in the randomly chosen selection, the Office of Information Practices is also requested to provide a formal enforceable ruling at a future time, to be determined by the Office's usual policies, if the informal guidance does not resolve the appeal; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Office of Information Practices is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including a comparison of the outcomes and impacts on staff workload for the trial appeals resolution process with the outcomes and impacts on staff workload for other appeals resolved by the Office to the Legislature twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2020; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if the trial appeals resolution process improves outcomes and positively impacts staff workload for the randomly chosen selection of incoming public appeals under the Uniform Information Practices Act and the Sunshine Law, the Office of Information is requested to appropriately the trial appeals resolution process as a standard practice; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Office of Information Practices, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Office of Information Practices; Alternative Appeal Resolution