LIHU‘E — A bill to exempt county councils from certain provisions of the state Sunshine Law was deferred Tuesday by the House Judiciary Committee. That means it likely won’t be considered again, according to a staff member for the office
LIHU‘E — A bill to exempt county councils from certain provisions of the state Sunshine Law was deferred Tuesday by the House Judiciary Committee.
That means it likely won’t be considered again, according to a staff member for the office of Maui’s Rep. Gilbert Keith-Agaran, chair of the committee.
House Bill 2742 would have amended HRS, Section 92-2, defining a board as any state agency, board, commission, authority or committee or its political subdivisions that is required to conduct meetings and to take official actions, “provided that ‘board’ shall not include the legislative bodies of the counties of this state.”
Hawai‘i’s Sunshine Law, or open meetings law, governs the manner in which all state and county boards must conduct their business, according to the state Office of Information Practices.
Section 92-2 of the Hawai‘i Revised Statutes cites the Hawai‘i attorney general’s opinion on Feb. 10, 1986, including county councils as boards.
According to the staff member for Keith-Agaran, the bill was deferred after the committee reviewed “a lot of last-minute testimony” in opposition to the measure.
“If he hears it again before next week and he files it on the floor, it can move on,” said the staff member.
But she added that no date was set for a follow-up hearing, which usually indicates the bill will not progress.
“If it doesn’t show up for next week’s agenda, it has kinda died,” she said of the bill.
