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Opinion Letter No. 06-02
April 28, 2006
Finance Investigative Task Force
The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority’s
(“NELHA”) Board of Directors formed a Finance Investigative
Committee to investigate, as a permitted interaction, the charges
to be used in negotiating the land rental rates with NELHA’s
tenants. A requester sought OIP’s opinion on whether the
Sunshine Law permitted the Committee to consider other financial
matters beyond the scope of the investigation that it was created
to perform outside of an open meeting. OIP determined that after
the Committee reported back to the Board on the matter it was
originally authorized to investigate it ceased to be an investigative
task force under section 92-2.5(b)(1). The continued meetings
by its members after that point were not permitted by section
92-2.5(b)(1) and, in the absence of any applicable permitted interaction
or exception, should have been open to the public in the manner
set forth by the Sunshine Law.
OIP noted that given the length of time that
the Committee has been meeting without following the requirements
of the Sunshine Law, it appears impossible for the Board to entirely
“cure” the past violations. However, OIP determined
that the Board should, at a minimum, make the minutes of and any
other records relating to those closed meetings of the Committee
publicly available.
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