HILO — What’s good for county government is good for state government too, a council member says.
If Council Chairwoman Valerie Poindexter has her way, Hawaii County will be the third county in the state to send a non-binding resolution to the state Legislature asking that body to also be governed by the state Sunshine Law, requiring open meetings.
Resolution 295 is scheduled to come before the council Committee on Governmental Relations and Economic Development at 9 a.m. Tuesday in Hilo council chambers. The public can also participate via videoconference at the West Hawaii Civic Center, Pahoa council office, Waimea council office, Naalehu state office building and the old Kohala courthouse.
Holding a state legislative body to public meeting laws is more common than not in the United States.
In fact, 32 states require their state legislatures to follow the Sunshine Law, compared to 15 that do not and three that have laws on the books that are not enforced, according to the 2011 Open Government Guide by the Washington D.C.-based nonprofit Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
Hawaii Senate President Ronald Kouchi and House Speaker Scott Saiki could not be reached for comment by press time Friday.
Maui and Kauai councils unanimously passed similar resolutions in early September.
Poindexter, along with Maui Council Chairman Mike White and Kauai Council Chairman Mel Rapoza, faced tough questioning during a House committee hearing on a bill putting the state on the hook for the struggling $9 billion Honolulu rail project.
They left the hearing frustrated that, while the public testimony part of the hearing was open to the public, the committee then went behind closed doors to debate and vote on the bill. Members then returned to the public meeting and put their votes on the record, without debate.
In fact, the $2.4 billion bailout bill was created by House and Senate leaders behind closed doors and then presented to the full Legislature with instructions that it couldn’t be amended during a week-long special session that ended Sept. 1.
In contrast, county councils are required by the state Sunshine Law to hold their deliberations and votes in a publicly noticed meeting, unless they go into executive session for specific limited purposes allowed by law, such as personnel matters and litigation.
Hawaii County Council members have often grumbled that the Sunshine Law slows their deliberations and decision-making on important issues.
Poindexter said she now understands the wait is worth it.
“I had an experience about what happens when the public is kept in the dark until the very last moment because we had deals made behind closed doors,” Poindexter said.
Neither White nor Rapoza returned telephone messages by press time Friday.
But White made these comments in a Sept. 6 posting on the Maui County website: “I believe the way the county councils operate is the right way. For council members it can be frustrating at times, but it protects the public’s right to know. All that I ask is that the state Legislature follow the same rules that it requires boards, commissions and county councils to operate under. It is only fair and this most recent special session is an example of why this is necessary and appropriate.”
Poindexter’s resolution notes that the state Legislature, in adopting Chapter 92, the Sunshine Law, described the significance of holding meetings open to the public as, “Opening up the governmental processes to public scrutiny and participation is the only viable and reasonable method of protecting the public’ s interest.”
Yet, “despite the touted importance of holding meetings open to the public for all state and county boards, the Hawaii State Legislature is exempted from the applicability of the Sunshine Law,” the resolution continues.
“There is a public outcry for transparency,” Poindexter said. “People want to know how their representatives are deliberating and making decisions on their behalf. The bottom line is that the Sunshine Law keeps politicians from making backroom deals.”
