Suit demands timely
land board records

Common Cause and
Environment Hawaii head to court
to obtain delayed meeting notes

By Ian Lind
Star-Bulletin

It's a problem that Common Cause/Hawaii has alleged since 1987: Minutes of state Board of Land and Natural Resoures are late or never released.

Common Cause and Environment Hawaii Inc. yesterday filed suit, alleging those administrative problems and other Sunshine Law violations.

The suit alleges the board routinely cuts off information to the public by failing to prepare meeting minutes within the 30-day time limit established by the Sunshine Law.

Paul H. Achitoff, managing attorney for the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund in Hawaii and attorney for the plaintiffs, said land board minutes are often months late, and as many as a dozen sets of minutes from prior years have never been made public.

Common Cause chairman Desmond Byrne has complained about land board minutes since 1987.

Byrne said minutes are important because they are the official record of discussions and actions of the board, which administers resources such as state lands, forests, parks, water resources and historic sites.

"I don't know how a board can function properly without minutes of previous meetings," Byrne said.

"Even if they aren't worried about the public, how can board members and staff know what was agreed to at earlier meetings without minutes?"

The Environment Hawaii newsletter reported earlier that minutes were prepared on time for seven of the 21 land board meetings held between January and mid-November 1996. Minutes for two of the 21 meetings held during 1995 were still unavailable in early 1997, the newsletter reported.

Achitoff said the land board has never disclosed minutes of past executive sessions, which are required by law even though the meetings are closed to the public. According to state law, agencies must have minutes of closed meetings and make them public as soon as the reason for confidentiality has passed.

The suit also seeks to block future "briefings" held by the board unless those meetings are publicly announced and comply with all provisions of the Sunshine Law.

Aulani Wilhelm, public information officer for the land agency, said board Chairman Michael Wilson was off island today and unavailable for comment.

But the land board has said previously that the problem stems from a lack of secretarial support.

Byrne said yesterday that staffing problems are no excuse.

"It depends where they put minutes on their priority list," Byrne said. "I'm not aware of anybody that has as bad a track record as the land board."

Achitoff said the suit asks the court to spell out the rights of the public and the legal obligations of the land board to comply with the Sunshine Law. It also seeks an injunction blocking the board from implementing any decisions made at meetings that violate the law, he said.

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