Requesting Records from the Commission

The Commission is committed to openness and transparency in its operations; we will work cooperatively with anyone requesting access to the Commission’s records in accordance with the Uniform Information Practices Act (“UIPA”), Hawai‘i Revised Statutes chapter 92f.

The Commission publishes many of its records on its website, www.ethics.hawaii.gov, including the following:

  • Public meeting materials reviewed by the Commission at its Sunshine Law meeting each month (posted at least six days before the meeting), such as meeting agendas, reports, and meeting minutes;
  • Public financial disclosure statements (for Legislators, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustees, and other high-level government officials) and, in election years, candidate financial disclosure statements; lobbyist registration statements and lobbying expenditure reports; and gifts disclosure statements, all of which are available at https://hawaiiethics.force.com/public/s/.
  • Advisory Opinions (redacted of the requester’s personal information) and resolutions of enforcement actions (including each “Decision and Order” issued after contested case hearings and each “Resolution of Investigation” and “Resolution of Charge,” issued after the Commission settles an enforcement case), all of which are available at https://hawaiiethics.force.com/public/s/ethics-advice/Ethics_Advice__c/00B2K000009nGogUAE.

Some of the Commission’s records are required by law to be kept confidential.  Specifically, records relating to any Commission investigations into potential violations of the Ethics Code are generally confidential and cannot be disclosed; for more information, please see Office of Information Practices Opinion from 2020, available at https://ethics.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/OIP_OpNoF20-2.pdf.  Similarly, many financial disclosure statements are required by law to be kept confidential by the Commission.

Except for those records that must be kept confidential, the Commission presumes that its records are open and available to the public.  If you are thinking about making a records request but you are not sure whether the Commission has (or can disclose) the records – or if you do not know how to frame your request – please feel free to call or e-mail us.  We will be happy to work with you to provide you with public records within the Commission’s possession, and to guide you to other resources that may be helpful to you.