HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
880 |
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO SUNSHINE LAW BOARDS.
BE IT ENACTED
BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
PART I
SECTION 1. The COVID-19 pandemic
forced the implementation of emergency measures suspending certain requirements
of the State's Sunshine Law in order to allow boards to continue meeting and conducting
necessary business, while protecting participants' health and safety and expanding
public access to meetings throughout our island state. During the emergency stay-at-home orders and travel
restrictions, board members, staff, or members of the public could not attend public
meetings in person. In lieu of traditional
in-person meetings, remote meetings connected people in different physical locations
through the use of interactive conference technology and thus enabled and enhanced
board and public participation. Remote meetings,
popularly referred to as "virtual meetings," could be safely held and
allowed more people from different islands or parts of islands to effectively participate,
often during times when they would not otherwise be physically able or authorized
to leave their work, homes, or schools to participate in an in-person meeting.
Based on boards'
experiences with remote meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic, the increased costs
of staffing, technological equipment and resources needed to conduct remote meetings
are offset by the savings in time, convenience, and travel costs for board members
and participants, especially those from the neighbor islands. During the COVID-19 pandemic, remote meetings
helped to prevent the spread of disease, and even when there is not an ongoing pandemic,
remote meetings can be a way to protect the health and safety of participants, particularly
those who have disabilities or medical conditions that would place them at greater
risks during travel or attendance at in-person public meetings. Allowing board members to participate in remote
meetings from their homes or private offices, while protecting their privacy by
not requiring them to allow members of the public into private sites, may increase
the number of volunteers willing to serve on government boards, particularly when
they live on an island different from where the boards' offices are located. Additionally, allowing boards to conduct remote
meetings within reasonable restrictions to ensure board transparency and public
access, would help to increase public participation in the formation and conduct
of public policy.
Furthermore, the benefits of remote meetings should continue in non-emergency
times, which requires permanent amendments to the Sunshine Law, part I of chapter
92, Hawaii Revised Statutes. For remote meetings
not held during times of emergency, there is a need for boards to also provide for
an in-person meeting location where members of the public can come to observe the
remote meeting or testify in person using interactive conference technology equipment
provided by the board, without requiring board members to be at the in-person location. This
allows members of the public who do not have the equipment, internet connection,
desire, or ability to readily access an online meeting a way to view the meeting
and testify in person, as has traditionally been the method of conducting meetings,
even if the board members themselves are not physically in the same room.
Remote meetings
could also take advantage of the relative ease of recording a meeting using interactive
technology via many remote meeting platforms, and thus this proposal would require,
when practicable, a board conducting a remote public meeting to also record the
meeting and provide public access to the recording until such time as the actual
meeting minutes have been posted online. This would benefit the public by allowing even
those members of the public who were not able to attend the meeting itself to still
find out what happened via the recording, without requiring the board to record
a remote meeting or provide access to the recording when it determines that doing
so is not practicable.
Recognizing that not all boards are equipped with adequate staffing
or technological equipment and resources to conduct remote meetings in a manner
that ensures public access as outlined in this Act, these amendments should permit,
but not require, boards to conduct remote meetings. These amendments would also continue to provide
boards an alternative option to conduct an in-person meeting with board members
and other participants physically present at multiple public meeting sites connected
using interactive conference technology, as the Sunshine Law currently allows. Retaining this option will
continue to allow for greater public participation between islands or parts thereof
in those circumstances when a board may not have sufficient internet bandwidth,
staffing, or resources to effectively administer an online meeting or to accommodate
a potentially large, worldwide audience that could possibly disrupt or overwhelm
an online meeting and drown out the voices of residents in Hawaii's communities.
Thus, this Act gives boards
various options in how they could conduct public meetings: (1) in the traditional manner with all participants
in person at a single site; (2) in an in-person meeting with board members and other
participants physically present at multiple meeting sites connected using interactive
conference technology; or (3) in a remote meeting using interactive conference technology
to connect board members and other participants from non-public physical locations,
with at least one public meeting site where people can attend in person to testify
or view the remote meeting using the equipment provided by the board. To supplement the public meeting sites, this Act
also recognizes that boards may list on their agendas additional locations open
for public participation where the loss of audiovisual connection to the public
meeting shall not necessarily result in termination of the public meeting. While
all public meeting options require at least one physical location where participants
can attend in person, this Act does
not affect the governor's emergency powers to suspend in-person meetings or other
Sunshine Law requirements that are not feasible if the COVID-19 pandemic continues
or another emergency arises.
Therefore, the purposes of this Act are to expand and enhance public
participation in public meetings, to lower the costs of holding meetings, to protect
public health and safety, to promote voluntary participation on boards, and to avoid
unnecessary and possibly burdensome travel by board members, staff, testifiers,
observers, other participants, and the general public, by allowing boards the option
to use interactive conference technology to conduct remote meetings under the Sunshine
Law, while still retaining the option
to conduct traditional in-person meetings at a single meeting site or at multiple
meeting sites connected by interactive conference technology.
PART II
SECTION 2. Chapter 92, Hawaii
Revised Statutes, is amended by adding to part I a new section to be appropriately
designated and to read as follows:
"§92- Remote
meeting by interactive conference technology; notice; quorum. (a) A board may
hold a remote meeting by interactive conference technology. A board holding a remote meeting pursuant to this
section shall not be required to allow members of the public to join board members
in person at nonpublic locations where board members are physically present or to
identify those locations in the notice required by section 92-7; provided that at
the meeting, each board member shall state who, if anyone, is present at the nonpublic
location with the member. The notice required
by section 92-7 shall:
(1) List at least one
meeting location that is open to the public;
(2) Inform members of the public how to contemporaneously:
(A) Remotely
view the video and audio of the meeting through internet streaming or other means;
and
(B) Provide remote oral testimony in a manner that
allows board members and other meeting participants to hear the testimony, whether
through an internet link, a telephone conference, or other means.
The notice required by section 92-7 may also list additional locations
open for public participation and shall specify whether, in the event an additional
location loses its audio-visual connection to the remote meeting, the meeting will
continue without that location or will be automatically recessed to restore communication
as provided in subsection (c).
(b) For a remote meeting held by interactive conference
technology pursuant to this section:
(1) The
interactive conference technology used by the board shall allow interaction among
all members of the board participating in the meeting and all members of the public
attending the meeting;
(2) Except
as provided in subsections (c) and (d), a quorum of board members shall be visible
and audible to other members and the public during the meeting; provided that so
long as a quorum of board members is visible, no other meeting participants shall
be required to be visible during the meeting;
(3) Any
board member participating in a meeting by interactive conference technology shall
be considered present at the meeting for the purpose of determining compliance with
the quorum and voting requirements of the board;
(4) At
the start of the meeting the presiding officer shall announce the names of the participating
members;
(5) Unless
unanimous, votes shall be conducted by roll call so that it is clear how each board
member voted; and
(6) When
practicable, boards shall record meetings open to the public and make the recording
of any such meeting electronically available to the public as soon as practicable
after a meeting and until such time as the minutes required by section 92-9 are
electronically posted on the board's website.
(c) A meeting held by interactive conference technology
shall be automatically recessed for up to one hour to restore communication when
audiovisual communication cannot be maintained with a quorum of members or with
the public location identified in the board's notice pursuant to subsection (a)(1)
or with the remote public broadcast identified in the board's notice pursuant to
subsection (a)(2)(A). This section shall
not apply based on the inability of a member of the public to maintain an audiovisual
connection to the remote public broadcast, unless the remote public broadcast itself
is not transmitting an audiovisual link to the meeting. The meeting may reconvene when either audiovisual
communication is restored, or audio-only communication is established after an unsuccessful
attempt to restore audiovisual communication, but only if the board has provided
reasonable notice to the public as to how to access the reconvened meeting after
an interruption to communication. If audio-only
communication is established, then each speaker shall be required to state their
name prior to making their remarks. Within
fifteen minutes after audio-only communication is established, copies of nonconfidential
visual aids, which are required by or brought to the meeting by board members or
as part of a scheduled presentation, shall be made available either by posting on
the internet or by other means to all meeting participants, including those participating
remotely, and those agenda items for which visual aids are not available for all
participants shall not be acted upon at the meeting. If it is not possible to reconvene the meeting
as provided in this section within one hour after an interruption to communication,
and the board has not provided reasonable notice to the public as to how the meeting
will be continued at an alternative date and time, then the meeting shall be automatically
terminated.
(d) During executive meetings from which the public has
been excluded, board members shall be audible to other authorized participants and
are not required to be visible. To preserve
the executive nature of any portion of a meeting closed to the public, the presiding
officer shall publicly state the names and titles of all authorized participants,
and upon convening the executive session all participants shall confirm to the presiding
officer that no unauthorized person is present or able to hear them at their remote
locations or via another audio or audio-visual connection. The person organizing the interactive conference
technology shall confirm that no unauthorized person has access to the executive
meeting as indicated on the control panels of the interactive conference technology
being used for the meeting, if applicable."
SECTION 3. Chapter 92, Hawaii Revised Statutes,
is amended by adding to part I a new section to be appropriately designated and
to read as follows:
"§92- Contact tracing. Notwithstanding
section 92-3, a board may require members of the public attending a meeting in person
to:
(1) Provide their names
and contact information solely for the purpose of contact tracing, which information
shall not be disclosed or used for any other purpose and shall not be maintained
any longer than necessary; and
(2) Abide by the
board's requirements for facial coverings, physical distancing, or other safety
measures;
when the governor
has previously declared a state of emergency for a contagious illness and, without
regard to whether the state of emergency is still in effect, a board reasonably
believes that such requirements are necessary because of the continuing prevalence
of the contagious illness for which the state of emergency was declared."
SECTION 4. Section 92-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
by amending the definition of "interactive conference technology" to read
as follows:
""Interactive conference technology" means any form
of [audio or] audio and visual conference technology, or audio conference
technology where permitted under this part, including teleconference, videoconference,
and voice over internet protocol, that facilitates interaction between the public
and board members."
SECTION 5. Section 92-3.5,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§92-3.5 [Meeting]
In-person meeting at multiple sites by interactive conference technology;
notice; quorum. (a) A board may hold [a]
an in-person meeting at multiple meeting sites connected by interactive
conference technology; provided that the interactive conference technology used
by the board allows audio or audiovisual interaction among all members of
the board participating in the meeting and all members of the public attending the
meeting, and the notice required by section 92-7 identifies all of the locations
where participating board members will be physically present and indicates that
members of the public may join board members at any of the identified locations. The notice may list additional locations open
for public participation but where no participating board members will be physically
present, and in the event one of those additional locations loses its audio connection
to the remote meeting, the notice shall specify whether the meeting will continue
without that location or will be automatically recessed to restore communication
as provided in subsection (c).
(b) Any board member participating
in a meeting by interactive conference technology under this section shall
be considered present at the meeting for the purpose of determining compliance with
the quorum and voting requirements of the board.
(c) A meeting held by interactive
conference technology under this section shall be [terminated] automatically
recessed for up to one hour to restore communication when audio communication
cannot be maintained with all locations where the meeting by interactive conference
technology is being held, even if a quorum of the board is physically present in
one location. [If copies of visual aids required
by, or brought to the meeting by board members or members of the public, are not
available to all meeting participants, at all locations where audio-only interactive
conference technology is being used, within] The meeting may reconvene when either audio or audio-visual communication
is restored. Within fifteen minutes
after audio-only communication is [used,] established, copies of nonconfidential
visual aids, which are required by or brought to the meeting by board members or
as part of a scheduled presentation, shall be made available either by posting on
the internet or by other means to all meeting participants, including those participating
remotely, and those agenda items for which
visual aids are not available for all participants at all meeting locations [cannot]
shall not be acted upon at the meeting. If it is not
possible to reconvene the meeting as provided in this section within one hour after
an interruption to communication, and the board has not provided reasonable notice
to the public as to how the meeting will be continued at an alternative date and
time, then the meeting shall be automatically terminated.
(d) Notwithstanding the other
provisions of this section to the contrary, a board member with a disability that
limits or impairs the member's ability to physically attend the meeting may participate
in a board meeting from a location not accessible to the public; provided that the
member with a disability is connected to other members of the board and the public
by both visual and audio means, and the
member identifies where the member is located and who, if anyone, is present at
that location with the member."
SECTION 6. Section 92-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
"(a) The board shall give written public notice of any regular, special, emergency, or rescheduled meeting, or any executive meeting when anticipated in advance. The notice shall include an agenda that lists all of the items to be considered at the forthcoming meeting; the date, time, and place of the meeting; the board's electronic and postal contact information for submission of testimony before the meeting; instructions on how to request an auxiliary aid or service or an accommodation due to a disability, including a response deadline, if one is provided, that is reasonable; and in the case of an executive meeting the purpose shall be stated. If an item to be considered is the proposed adoption, amendment, or repeal of administrative rules, an agenda meets the requirements for public notice pursuant to this section if it contains a statement on the topic of the proposed rules or a general description of the subjects involved, as described in section 91-3(a)(1)(A), and a statement of when and where the proposed rules may be viewed in person and on the Internet as provided in section 91-2.6. The means specified by this section shall be the only means required for giving notice under this part notwithstanding any law to the contrary."
SECTION 7. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 8. This Act, upon its approval, shall take effect on July 1, 2021.
INTRODUCED BY: |
_____________________________ |
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BY REQUEST |
Report Title:
Sunshine Law; Interactive Conference Technology; Remote Meetings
Description:
Expands board and public participation by giving boards the option, in conjunction with in-person meetings, to use interactive conference technology to remotely conduct public meetings under the Sunshine Law, even when no emergency has been declared by government authorities. Authorizes boards to exclude the public from nonpublic locations, such as homes, where board members are physically present when remote board meetings are held by interactive conference technology, with members of the public given the option to participate either remotely or at an in-person public location. Establishes requirements for the conduct of remote meetings. Requires remote meetings held by interactive conference technology to recess for a maximum prescribed period when audiovisual communication cannot be maintained by the board (not due to a member of the public's inability to maintain such communication) and allows the meeting to be reconvened even if only audio communication can be reestablished. Establishes a new notice requirement to provide the board's contact information for the submission of written testimony by electronic or postal mail, which also applies to remote meeting agendas. Amends existing option to hold in-person meetings at multiple public meeting sites connected by interactive conference technology to require termination of meeting only if audio communication is lost and cannot be reestablished within an hour and the board had not provided reasonable notice of how the meeting would be continued. Allows for additional courtesy sites open to the public for both remote and in-person meetings held by interactive conference technology. Allows for contact tracing and social distancing in a pandemic.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.