Over Hawaii’s 15 months of lockdown due to COVID-19, Gov. David Ige’s emergency proclamations have incrementally eased severe restrictions, restoring modicums of normalcy in spurts while keeping the coronavirus at bay. Outdated emergency measures such as stay-at-home orders and strict travel quarantines are finally, and necessarily, coming to an end amid steady recovery — but not the overreactive clampdown on government openness.
The continuing partial suspensions of Hawaii’s government transparency laws Opens in a new tab — the Sunshine Law and, especially, the Uniform Information Practices Act (UIPA) regarding access to public records — are unnecessary and wrong. Full adherence to those laws should be restored well before the currently set Aug. 6.
Access to public information and processes is vital in normal times — but becomes even more critical during a state of emergency that enabled the wholesale suspension of normal governmental operations, oversight, and checks and balances. The transparency vacuum led to struggles for public information, for instance, on the state’s troubled contact-tracing efforts.
Criticism from good-government groups and news media prompted Ige to gradually ease restrictions since March 2020. But this week in his 21st COVID emergency proclamation, he retained ongoing open-government law suspensions. That continues to enable too much leeway for state agencies to independently decide whether to release, even stall, requested public records or information.
The updated directive says public-records requests can be delayed only if they require a review of hard-copy files not accessible during the pandemic; if the gathering and review of records would directly impair the agency’s COVID response; or if the agency is processing backlogged requests in good faith. Agencies also must now acknowledge UIPA requests.
A governor’s office spokeswoman said the emergency provisions remain because most state agencies are still focused on responding to the pandemic and have received “overly broad” public records requests that take time to address.
Still, it’s government that should be leading the return to normalcy, as is the case in many other states that are rebounding and repopulating their government offices and services. And even on that fundamental question of departmental staffing — at the core of agencies’ ability to respond to public-records requests — Hawaii is lackadaisical. Neither the governor’s office nor the Department of Human Resources Development had information on how many state employees are still teleworking, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser was told.
Such looseness with minding government resources makes its own compelling case about the need for more transparency and access to public operations.
