STAND

 

STAND. COM. REP. 2621

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: S.B. No. 3185

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 3185 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO INFORMATION PRACTICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to enact an abuse of process law for vexatious requestors of public records.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, Department of the Attorney General, Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, Department of Human Services, Department of Public Safety, Office of Information Practices, the Senate Majority Attorney, and two individuals.

Your Committee finds that the Uniform Information Practices Act (UIPA) is an important tool for the public to access government information. However, there are also concerns about people who abuse the UIPA by making vexatious requests to government agencies. Your Committee finds that there should be measures to address abusive and malicious requests, and your Committee believes that this measure will address these problems.

However, your Committee notes that although there may be a need to address vexatious requestors, there must be a balance between addressing abusive conduct and not limiting legitimate public requests. Your Committee further notes that this measure is intended to address problems with this type of abusive conduct and should not be used to avoid or circumvent legitimate requests.

Your Committee has amended this measure to provide more detail and safeguards on two of the seven factors used in determining a vexatious requestor. Specifically:

(1) Duplicative or repetitive requests are a factor if the agency has already responded to the request; and

(2) Abandoning a request when the fee is not waived is a factor if the request is for a purpose other than obtaining access to the records.

Your Committee has also specified that the restrictions on vexatious requesters must be narrowly tailored to the abusive pattern of conduct.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3185, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3185, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs,

		____________________________ COLLEEN HANABUSA, Chair