Council calls for changes to the sunshine law

All nine county council members passed a resolution on Wednesday calling for changes to the state’s sunshine law, although most of the details are still unclear.

Resolution 238 simply states that it “supports the addition of an item entitled“ Amendment to the Sunshine Law, Part I of Chapter 92, Hawaii Revised Statues ”to improve the ability of county councils to develop effective public policy while ensuring transparency and citizen participation in local government ‘for inclusion in the Hawaii State Association of Counties 2022 legislative package.

Hamakua councilor Heather Kimball, HSAC secretary and sponsor of the resolution, said she wanted to meet a December deadline to ensure a measure of the Sun Act is included in the HSAC legislative package. The current measure is unspecific, she said, as negotiations are ongoing and she prefers to “leave the container sufficiently open” so that all parties can offer solutions.

“None of this has to do with reducing transparency,” said Kimball. “It’s more about clarifying the guard rails.”

For example, Kimball said the proposals so far include 24-hour early access to boardroom materials for meetings, more clarity on board members’ SMS and chat messages during Zoom meetings, and conference calls with members who are out of state.

Council members came up with several ideas to make the law more flexible for open meetings of the state and to allow faster reactions from the council, especially in support or opposition to laws going through the legislature.

Hilo Councilor Aaron Chung said he has received a lot of turmoil over the years for his opinions on state law preventing the council from doing its work. It was preferable to allow council members to meet with voters and each other to work out solutions before a council meeting than trying to reach an agreement during the meetings, he said.

“It’s very difficult when everything is open,” said Chung. “There has to be something that allows the Council to really work together, so I support the concept, but I wish there were more details here.”

Chung said the law should at least allow “minute resolutions” to support or oppose the measures that move through state law. Such a resolution could be drafted and presented by a councilor and distributed to the other members for signature before being presented to the legislature for testimony. That would ensure timely action and better serve voters, he said.

Kohala Councilor Tim Richards agreed.

“If we can’t react quickly, it’s problematic for us,” said Richards.

The state association of counties, and in particular the members of the county council of Maui, have been trying for years to relax the requirements of the county Sunshine Law. A bill tabled by Senators from Maui and Oahu that would have allowed the state’s four district councils to privately debate and discuss matters before the vote was rushed to the legislature earlier this year.

A good interest representation of the government, which wanted to insure itself this year, will be different.

“The League of Women Voters of Hawaii County commends the counties’ councils for upholding the Sunshine Laws. The laws give the public they represent a better understanding of the work of the council and more opportunity to be heard, ”said Helen Hemmes, League of Women Voters president, Hawaii County president. “We oppose exempting government agencies, including state agencies and committees and county councils, from the Sunshine Acts.”

Email Nancy Cook Lauer at [email protected].