StarBulletin.com

Support dwindles for bill limiting access to records


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POSTED: Sunday, April 04, 2010

A move to limit access to public information for people who repeatedly ask for the same documents is moving to a joint House-Senate conference, but support appears to be waning.

The bill, Senate Bill 2937, was the idea of the state Health Department, which has to field daily questions about the birth certificate of President Barack Obama.

Conservative fringe groups on the mainland have bombarded the Health Department with requests for Obama's birth certificate, and when they are told that the document is private and not a public document, many attempt to sue, causing the state to repeatedly defend its position.

The Media Council of Hawaii protested the proposed bill, saying that it could be used to needlessly restrict public information.

In an attempt to compromise, Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu, Judiciary Committee chairman, changed the bill to say that if a requester makes duplicative requests for what is substantially the same document and the agency already has answered, the state Office of Information Practices would be required to step in to examine the issue.

OIP could then decide that the agency need not make available the document or provide more than one response or set of government records to the requesting person.

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Sen. Will Espero, who introduced the bill at the request of the Health Department, said the Senate would not agree to the House amendments, meaning the bill will go to conference.

“;I don't want to see a bill that people feel is infringing on their rights,”; said Espero (D, Ewa-Honouliuli-Ewa Beach).

Chris Conybeare, Media Council president, called the new proposal “;really bad.”;

“;Any new exception to the public information law is really bad,”; Conybeare said.

“;This will not stop people like the 'birthers' from asking about Obama's birth certificate, but it could curb legitimate public interest groups or the news media from requesting documents,”; Conybeare said.

He added that because the OIP is already working with a reduced staff and closed on Furlough Fridays, giving it new duties will not be efficient.

“;The only thing this will do is just jam up the system,”; Conybeare said.