Retired veteran newspaper reporter Hugh Clark reports that State House Representative Clift Tsuji (Hilo) informed him that House Bill 2742 was deferred indefinitely by the House Judiciary Chair, with no vote taken. The bill was scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday. The bill would have exempted the County Councils from the Sunshine Law.
The Sunshine Law is often referred to as the Open Meetings Law. It was passed by the Hawaii State Legislature, and although they exempted themselves from it, it does apply to County Councils and State and County Boards and Commissions. It requires advance notice of meetings–currently six days–and does not permit more than two members of a Board, Commission, or County Council to discuss an issue that either is before them or could reasonably come before them. It has a number of other provisions intended to keep the business of the people handled in full view of the people and quash back-room deals.
There are provisions of the Sunshine Law which some County Council members and members of Boards have felt constricted their ability to get the job done–for example, members of the Community Development Plans said they could not, as a group, attend trainings intended to improve their ability to serve. And County Council members may only discuss matters at their meetings, which sometimes means members are performing more for the camera than trying to openly discuss an issue. However, exempting County Councils from the law would mean they would not be held to the six-day notice provision, which in itself sometimes means a short notice for having an item on an agenda.
Although House Judiciary Chair Calvin Say introduced it, it’s not clear who actually proposed the bill. Some of those testifying against this bill included the Big Island Press Club and the League of Women Voters-Hawaii Island and Oahu, along with the Hawaii Farmers Union United, Americans for Democratic Action/Hawaii,and at least 30 individuals from around the state. Submitting testimony in favor of exempting the County Councils from the Sunshine Law provisions were Danny Mateo, Chair of Maui County Council; Joseph Pontanilla, Vice Chair-Maui County Council; and Maui County Council members Robert Carroll and Don Couch.
Similar provisions were introduced in 2003 and 2005 but killed.
