RELATING TO FEES FOR PUBLIC RECORDS UNDER CHAPTER 92F.

HB130

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

130

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING
TO FEES FOR PUBLIC RECORDS UNDER CHAPTER 92F
.

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

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SECTION 1.
�
The legislature finds that public records
laws are a critical mechanism to maintain government accountability and
transparency and support citizen involvement in government decision-making.
�
The real-world consequences of restricting
access to government information can range from serious to routine but, in all
cases, result in a less-informed citizenry.

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The legislature further finds that
this Act adopts the Freedom of Information Act standard to define waivers of
fees for searching, reviewing, or segregating disclosable records when in the
public interest.
�
The federal standard
provides a waiver in limited circumstances based on careful examination of
various factors, including the subject matter of the request and identity of
the requester.
�
Case law under the
Freedom of Information Act will provide guidance for interpreting the standard.

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Accordingly, the purpose of this Act
is to:

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(1)
�
Impose a cap on charges for searching for,
reviewing, and segregating government records; and

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(2)
�
Provide for a waiver of fees in certain
circumstances when the public interest is served by a government record's
disclosure.

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SECTION
2
.
�
Section 92F-42,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

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"
�92F-42
�
Powers and duties of the
office of information practices.
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The
director of the office of information practices:

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(1)
�
Shall, upon
request, review and rule on an agency denial of access to information or
records, or an agency's granting of access; provided that any review by the
office of information practices shall not be a contested case under chapter 91
and shall be optional and without prejudice to rights of judicial enforcement
available under this chapter;

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(2)
�
Upon request by an
agency, shall provide and make public advisory guidelines, opinions, or other
information concerning that agency's functions and responsibilities;

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(3)
�
Upon request by
any person, may provide advisory opinions or other information regarding that
person's rights and the functions and responsibilities of agencies under this
chapter;

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(4)
�
May conduct
inquiries regarding compliance by an agency and investigate possible violations
by any agency;

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(5)
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May examine the
records of any agency for the purpose of paragraphs (4) and (18) and seek to
enforce that power in the courts of this State;

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(6)
�
May recommend
disciplinary action to appropriate officers of an agency;

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(7)
�
Shall report
annually to the governor and [
the state
] legislature on the activities
and findings of the office of information practices, including recommendations
for legislative changes;

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(8)
�
Shall receive
complaints from and actively solicit the comments of the public regarding the
implementation of this chapter;

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(9)
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Shall review the
official acts, records, policies, and procedures of each agency;

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(10)
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Shall assist
agencies in complying with the provisions of this chapter;

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(11)
�
Shall inform the
public of the following rights of an individual and the procedures for
exercising them:

���������
(A)
�
The right of
access to records pertaining to the individual;

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(B)
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The right to
obtain a copy of records pertaining to the individual;

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(C)
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The right to know
the purposes for which records pertaining to the individual are kept;

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(D)
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The right to be
informed of the uses and disclosures of records pertaining to the individual;

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(E)
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The right to
correct or amend records pertaining to the individual; and

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(F)
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The individual's
right to place a statement in a record pertaining to that individual;

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(12)
�
Shall adopt rules
that set forth an administrative appeals structure [
which
]
that

provides for:

���������
(A)
�
Agency procedures
for processing records requests;

���������
(B)
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A direct appeal
from the division maintaining the record; and

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(C)
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Time limits for
action by agencies;

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(13)
�
Shall adopt rules
that set forth the fees and other charges that may be imposed for searching,
reviewing, or segregating disclosable records[
, as well as to provide for a
waiver of fees when the public interest would be served;
]
.
�
The rules shall:

���������
(A)
�
Set
forth fees not exceeding $5 per fifteen minutes or fraction thereof for the
search for the record;

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(B)
�
Set
forth fees not exceeding $7.50 per fifteen minutes or fraction thereof for the review
and segregation of the record; and

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(C)
�
Provide
for a waiver of fees when the public interest would be served by the record's disclosure;
provided that the waiver shall require that the search for or review or segregation
of records be provided at no charge to the requester if disclosure of the record
is in the public interest because the disclosure is likely to contribute significantly
to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government, is
not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester, and is not unreasonably
burdensome.
�
Factors to be considered
when determining if the disclosure would serve the public interest include, but
are not limited to:

�������������
(i)
�
The
subject of the request;

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(ii)
�
The
informative value of the information to be disclosed;

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(iii)
�
The
contribution to an understanding of the subject by the general public likely to
result from disclosure;

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(iv)
�
The
significance of the contribution to public understanding;

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(v)
�
The
existence and magnitude of a commercial interest; and

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(vi)
�
The
primary interest in disclosure;

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(14)
�
Shall adopt rules [
which
]

that
set forth uniform standards for the records collection practices of
agencies;

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(15)
�
Shall adopt rules
that set forth uniform standards for disclosure of records for research
purposes;

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(16)
�
Shall have
standing to appear in cases where the provisions of this chapter or part I of
chapter 92 are called into question;

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(17)
�
Shall adopt,
amend, or repeal rules pursuant to chapter 91 necessary for the purposes of
this chapter; and

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(18)
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Shall take action
to oversee compliance with part I of chapter 92 by all state and county boards
including:

���������
(A)
�
Receiving and
resolving complaints;

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(B)
�
Advising all
government boards and the public about compliance with chapter 92; and

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(C)
�
Reporting each
year to the legislature on all complaints received pursuant to section 92-1.5."

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SECTION 3.
�
This Act does not affect rights and duties
that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun
before its effective date.

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

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SECTION 5.
�
This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Office of
Information Practices; Public Records; Costs; Waiver

Description:

Imposes a
cap on charges for searching for, reviewing, and segregating government records
under the Uniform Information Practices Act.
�

Provides for a waiver of fees in certain circumstances when the public
interest is served by a government record's disclosure.

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