Legislators doing little to let 'sunshine' in
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Hawai'i lawmakers seem determined to fix what's faulty in the state's Sunshine Law, but refuse to close its most glaring loophole.
The law, established to provide openness and transparency in public decisionmaking, does not apply to the state Legislature itself.
Despite complaints that the law complicates the process, the fact remains that Hawai'i's most critical decisionmaking happens at the Capitol. It's intolerable that it is government's darkest corner. Lawmakers have their own open-meeting rules, but frequently waive them. By one count, the House has had 71 requests so far this session to waive the rule to give the public 48-hours notice; all 71 waiver requests were approved.
A resolution passed last year called for a series of Sunshine Law discussions culminating in December with the publication of a report by the University of Hawai'i-Manoa's Public Policy Center.
That report noted conflicting views expressed by various officials and community organizations consulted over several months. However, the report concluded, "one clear point of consensus was a critique of the Legislature's exemption of the Sunshine Law for itself. Many participants argued that the Legislature, at a minimum, needs to adopt rules promoting more sunshine, especially regarding notice and decisionmaking."
Strange, isn't it? This consensus point is precisely what's missing from the thin crop of laws relating to the Sunshine Law this session.
The two bills still alive deal with loosening the law, not strengthening it:
That's all fine, but these are sideshows. In the center ring, lawmakers should be considering the compromise measure of incorporating their own relatively flexible House and Senate open-meeting rules into the Sunshine Law.
This would communicate they're serious about letting sunshine in. As it is, voters must conclude they don't care.
