UH regents claim meetings not secret
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By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer
Meetings held to evaluate UH President Evan Dobelle's performance were continuations of a recessed committee meeting — and not secret or illegal meetings of the full board, says Patricia Lee, chairwoman of the University of Hawai'i Board of Regents.
"Our meetings were certainly not illegal regarding the evaluation of the president," Lee said on Thursday, responding to a story in the Dec. 6 Advertiser.
Lee said the Committee on Personnel and Legal Affairs recessed and reconvened without posting meeting notices and that Office of Information Practices director Leslie H. Kondo has told her that was permissible.
Kondo said his office recommends that whenever a board or board committee reconvenes a meeting more than six days later, notices should be posted again.
"If you're going to reconvene more than six days later, you should re-notice," said Kondo.
However, it is not a requirement, he said.
In the UH board case, more than three weeks elapsed between the board's regularly scheduled executive (private) meeting of the personnel committee on July 10 and the second meeting on Aug. 5.
"The statute doesn't prohibit the board from recessing and reconvening," said Kondo. "But we would suggest to boards if they're going to reconvene more than six days later, they should notice. The same rules apply for committees."
Kondo also said that boards have strict guidelines under Hawai'i Sunshine Laws that prevent them from discussing board business outside of legally scheduled meetings.
For example, three members of a board who get together for lunch are legally precluded from discussing board business, he said.
The question about whether the meetings were legal arose after Dobelle's evaluation became a bone of contention, with at least one member of the Board of Regents calling for the UH president to make the document public despite long-standing practice that they remain confidential.
Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.
