§91-2  Public information.  (a)  Inaddition to other rulemaking requirements imposed by law, each agency shall:

(1)  Adopt as a rule a description of the methodswhereby the public may obtain information or make submittals or requests.

(2)  Adopt rules of practice, setting forth the natureand requirements of all formal and informal procedures available, and includinga description of all forms and instructions used by the agency.

(3)  Make available for public inspection all rulesand written statements of policy or interpretation formulated, adopted, or usedby the agency in the discharge of its functions.

(4)  Make available for public inspection all finalopinions and orders.

(b)  No agency rule, order, or opinion shall bevalid or effective against any person or party, nor may it be invoked by theagency for any purpose, until it has been published or made available forpublic inspection as herein required, except where a person has actualknowledge thereof.

(c)  Nothing in this section shall affect theconfidentiality of records as provided by statute. [L 1961, c 103, §2; Supp,§6C-2; HRS §91-2]

 

Case Notes

 

  "Actualknowledge" referred to in section cannot give effect to rules not adoptedin conformity with §91-3 and §91-4.  55 H. 478, 522 P.2d 1255.

  Planning andpermitting department's policy of refusing to publicly disclose developer'sengineering reports prior to their approval constituted a "rule"; asthis policy was not "published or made available for publicinspection" nor did plaintiff have actual knowledge of the policy prior toits initial request for the reports, department did not comply with thischapter and was proscribed from invoking this policy; thus, department violatedthis chapter by refusing to publicly disclose any unaccepted engineeringreports and written comments, and all of its files, including developer's file,were public records that could be examined upon request.  119 H. 90, 194 P.3d531.

  Cited:  904 F. Supp.1098.