What's open? What's not?
Hawaii's public records law seems straightforward: All government information is required to be available for inspection and copying during regular business hours unless it is covered by a specific exemption.
In practice, it is anything but straightforward.
Perhaps the best way to get a quick idea of what information is publicly available is to review the 195 written opinions issued to date by the Office of Information Practices.
Most information that OIP has determined to be closed to the public involves the privacy of an individual - welfare records, pension benefits of retirees, child abuse records, home telephone numbers, names of employees under criminal investigation or names of people with an infectious disease.
Some information is considered confidential until an agency takes action on it, as in competitive bids or the scoring sheets for the convention center design proposals.
Copies of the OIP opinions are available at public libraries and at the Office of Information Practices in the State Office Tower.
Opinion # - TYPE OF INFORMATION - O= Open X=Closed
89-1 - Workers comp insurance contracts held by Labor Dept. - O
89-2 - Names & background of unsuccessful candidates for dept. head - X
89-3 - Compromise offers for payment of back taxes - L*
89-4 - Dept. of Hawaiian Homes waiting list - O*
89-5 - Name and occupation of government loan recipients - O
89-6 - Delinquent loan reports of Dept. of Agriculture - O
89-7 - Pardons and commutations of criminal sentences by governor - O
89-8 - Certified payroll records on public works contracts - O
89-9 - Membership of law school admissions committee - O*
89-10 - Settlement agreements after litigation completed - O
89-11 - Amounts paid to ushers & parking attendants at Blaisdell Arena - O
89-12 - Name of person reporting zoning violation - X
89-13 - Budget info of operators of special treatment facilities - X
89-14 - "Name, location, and release date of prison inmates" - O
89-15 - Aloha Tower development proposals - O**
89-16 - Names of people attending state-sponsored seminar - O*
89-17 - Adult care home violations - O*
90-1 - Pension benefits of specific retired public employees - X
90-2 - Proposals in response to agency request for proposals - O**
90-3 - Revenue reports by airport concessions - O
90-4 - Certified drivers' abstracts - O
90-5 - Child abuse records of Dept. of Human Services - X
90-6 - Manuals for supervisory management training course - O
90-7 - SS# and birthdate of persons denied certification by DOE - X
90-8 - "Internal agency memoranda, notes and recommendations" - O***
90-9 - Home telephone numbers of Board of Water Supply customers - X
90-10 - Release of confidential info to individual legislators - X
90-11 - UH academic program reviews - O***
90-12 - Status of formal charges/disciplinary action against employee - L
90-13 - Unclaimed property valuations - O
90-14 - Certified list of eligible candidates for appointment - X
90-15 - Government contract & purchasing information - O
90-16 - Members/positions of university search committee members - O
90-17 - Public employee vacation and sick leave records - O*
90-18 - Videotaped homicide confession - X
90-19 - Unfiled legislative committee report - X
90-20 - Building permit applications - O
90-21 - Audit of Protection and Advocacy Agency - O
90-22 - Voter registration computer tapes - L
90-23 - Vital statistics records - L
90-24 - Disclosure of retiree's address to another agency - O
90-25 - Firearm permit applications - L
90-26 - Welfare records of deceased individuals - X
90-27 - Records of Research Corp. of UH - O
90-28 - Contractors license revocation information - O
90-29 - Water use and amounts billed and owed by customers - O
90-30 - Library files assessed or owed - O
90-31 - Hawaiian Humane Society animal registration info - O*
90-32 - Financial information by captive insurer - X
90-33 - Salaries of Research Corp. of UH employees - O
90-34 - Prison policy manual - O
90-35 - Declarations of water use submitted to state Water Commission - O
90-36 - Building code violation notices - O
90-37 - Names of individuals requesting opinions from OIP - O
90-38 - Escheated warrant reports by DAGS - O
90-39 - Formal charges and disciplinary action against employees - L
90-40 - Lease rent arbitration decisions by HFDC - O
91-1 - Massage therapist license application - O*
91-2 - Special duty pay to police officers - X
91-3 - Police Dept. standards of conduct - O
91-4 - Police blotters or arrest logs - O
91-5 - Names of jurors grading architect license exams - X
91-6 - Investigative reports by Dept. of Agriculture - O
91-7 - Retirement plan selections of public employees - X
91-8 - Education/employment history of board/commission nominees - O
91-9 - Investigative report on Pacific Whale Foundation - X
91-10 - Property appraisals used to adjust lease rents - O
91-11 - Massage therapist license applications - O
91-12 - Disclosure of confidential info to Civil Rights Commission - O
91-13 - Motor vehicle registration info - D
91-14 - Scoring sheets for evaluating purchase of service proposals - O
91-15 - Law school accreditation reports - O
91-16 - Draft master plan for Ka'u spaceport - O
91-17 - Kauai County budget ordinance - O
91-18 - Disclosure of confidential info to Dept. of Personnel Services - O
91-19 - Dept. of Hawn Homes data on lessees and lease payments - O
91-20 - " "Good faith" decisions by employees immune from suits" - N/A
91-21 - Accepted proposals to provide title insurance to HFDC - O
91-22 - Internal agency documents substantially discussed at meeting - O
91-23 - Informal advice and counsel by attorney general - X
91-24 - Interview scores of applicants for public employment - O*
91-25 - Newspaper clipping binder compiled by state prison - O
91-26 - Name and salary range of police not working undercover - O
91-27 - Dept. of Health report on food poisoning at fish market - O
91-28 - Civil service job application disclosure to other agencies - O
91-29 - Financial work papers submitted by Matson - X
91-30 - Prison policy and procedure manual - O
91-31 - UH coaches salaries - X
91-32 - Autopsy reports - O
91-33 - Ambulance report about deceased individual - O
92-1 - Standards of conduct of Dept. of Corrections - O
92-2 - East-West Center records - N/A
92-3 - List of judicial nominations of Judicial Selection Commission - L
92-4 - Petitions for name changes - X
92-5 - Document reviews by Comm. on Persons with Disabilities - O
92-6 - Unpublished parts of Inventory of Trails and Accesses - X
92-7 - Dept. of Labor list of self-insured employers - O
92-8 - "List of name, ethnicity and home address of all veterans" - X
92-9 - Demurrage fee invoices/charges for storage on docks - O
92-10 - Opinion letters by state Dept. of Taxation - L
92-11 - Application waiting lists for Section 8 housing - O*
92-12 - Addresses of lobbyists registered with Ethics Commission - O
92-13 - Audio tape of public meeting - O
92-14 - Department reports on injury claims against the state - X
92-15 - Newsletter distributed within Dept. of Attorney General - O
92-16 - Drivers license records disclosure to circuit courts - O
92-17 - Attachments to HVB contract with state - O*
92-18 - Information on certified pesticide users - O*
92-19 - Name of county employee under criminal investigation - X
92-20 - Names of apprentices registered with Dept. of Labor - O
92-21 - Settlement agreement in 1963 anti-trust suit - O
92-22 - "Depts. of Taxation, Health info on blind individuals" - X
92-23 - FBI criminal history record information - X
92-24 - Certificates of experience/disclosure to applicant for license - O
92-25 - Work papers of CPA firm under contract to auditor - XL
92-26 - Drafts of Convention Center Authority site selection report - X
92-27 - Minutes of public meetings after approval - O
93-1 - "Name, status of Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan recipients " - O
93-2 - UH campus law enforcement records - O*
93-3 - Workers compensation annual reports by self-insurers - O
93-4 - PUC annual financial reports by motor carriers - O
93-5 - List of paramedic applicants submitted by ambulance co. - O
93-6 - Professional licensing exam questions & answers - X
93-7 - Inmate access to prison medical files - O
93-8 - Bar exam scores and answers - N/A
93-9 - Contract information covered by court order - X
93-10 - Salaries of employees exempt from civil service - O
93-11 - Circuit Court records - N/A
93-12 - Name & business address of owner of animal in quarantine - O
93-13 - List of nominees to state Ethics Commission - O
93-14 - Indentity of persons with infectious disease - X
93-15 - Medical opinions in records of hyperbaric treatment center - X
93-16 - Computerized condo registry of Real Estate Commission - O*
93-17 - Records of legislators' allowance expenditures - X
93-18 - Records of Maui community television nonprofit - X
93-19 - Enforcement plan for motor carrier safety - O
93-20 - Membership list submitted to agency by community group - X
93-21 - Info on overdue library fines for use on postcard notices - O
93-22 - Names of past Ethics Commission nominees - O
93-23 - Copy of written request to inspect or copy records - O
94-1 - Supplemental homicide reports submitted to attorney gen. - O
94-2 - Records of state Water Code Review Commission - O
94-3 - Daily activity reports by UH security officers - O*
94-4 - Identities of Section 8 housing subsidy recipients - X
94-5 - Records of Villages of Kapolei Association - X
94-6 - Records of former governors held by state Archives - O
94-7 - Names of UH employees disciplined for misconduct - O
94-8 - Exam and interview questions for promotion to asst police chief - X
94-9 - Background of Hawn Sovereignty Advisory Comm members - O
94-10 - Petition protesting issuance of a liquor license - O
94-11 - Contracts between attorney general and expert witnesses - X
94-12 - "Booking photographs or "mug shots" filed by police" - O
94-13 - Employee personnel file accessible to U.S. Dept. of Labor - O
94-14 - Records on importation of green coffee beans - O*
94-15 - Grant application by Ka'ili'ula Ohana Corp. - O
94-16 - Confidential records to Maui County Council - O
94-17 - Records supporting claim against city by transit bidder - O
94-18 - Convention Center Authority design scoring sheets - O**
94-19 - Dept. of Public Safety policy regarding security - X
94-20 - Boating citations issued by state - O*
94-21 - Legislator's workers compensation claim notices - O
94-22 - Release of personnel records to employee union - O
94-23 - Nonprofit cable television broadcast company records - X
94-24 - Inmate search policy of Dept. of Public Safety - O
94-25 - Identity of those attending bidders conference & related info - O**
94-26 - Disclosure of UH sexual harassment report to parties - O
94-27 - Names of students in publicly funded exchange program - O
94-28 - Individual access to informal personnel file - O
94-29 - Workers' compensation decisions of Dept. of Labor - O
95-1 - Records of Commission on Sexual Orientation and the Law - O
95-2 - List of certified eligibles for county position - X
95-3 - Student Conduct Code or Academic Grievance cases - X
95-4 - Access by employee to petition protesting appointment - O*
95-5 - OSHA investigation records and reports - O*
95-6 - Arbitrator's decision on discharge of state employee - O
95-7 - Report of faculty advisory committee on academic freedom - X
95-8 - Records in physical possession of airport contractor - O
95-9 - Pawn transaction records maintained by HPD - X
95-10 - Identity of applicants for law school admission - X
95-11 - Sex offender custody level review form - X
95-12 - Names and qualifications of unpaid consultants - XL
95-13 - General Orders of Hawaii County Police Department - D
95-14 - Filing dates of financial disclosures by board members - O
95-15 - Conviction data held by criminal justice agencies - O
95-16 - Disclosure of medical records without court order - X
95-17 - Reports prepared or received alleging violations of OSHA laws - X
95-18 - Names of persons licensed to carry concealed firearms - X
95-19 - Disclosure of Police Commission files to complainant - O
95-20 - Access to traffic citations in District Court - X
95-21 - Police report of unattended death where case closed - O
95-22 - Transcript of hearing of Hawaii Labor Relations Board - O
95-23 - Complaint to UH Ethics Committee alleging misconduct - X
95-24 - Management study by SMS Research - O*
96-1 - Computer disks with electronic transcripts of meetings - O
96-2 - Identities of subjects of county ethics opinions - X
O Record is public
X Record is not public
* Record is public after confidential info is deleted
** Record is public only after final action is completed
*** Factual info public; some staff opinions & recommendations are closed
L Differs from original opinion due to change in law
D Depends