[§92F-2]  Purposes; rules of construction. 
In a democracy, the people are vested with the ultimate decision-making power. 
Government agencies exist to aid the people in the formation and conduct of
public policy.  Opening up the government processes to public scrutiny and
participation is the only viable and reasonable method of protecting the
public's interest.  Therefore the legislature declares that it is the policy of
this State that the formation and conduct of public policy--the discussions,
deliberations, decisions, and action of government agencies--shall be conducted
as openly as possible.



The policy of conducting government business as
openly as possible must be tempered by a recognition of the right of the people
to privacy, as embodied in section 6 and section 7 of Article I of the
Constitution of the State of Hawaii.



This chapter shall be applied and construed to
promote its underlying purposes and policies, which are to:



(1)  Promote the public interest in disclosure;



(2)  Provide for accurate, relevant, timely, and
complete government records;



(3)  Enhance governmental accountability through a
general policy of access to government records;



(4)  Make government accountable to individuals in the
collection, use, and dissemination of information relating to them; and



(5)  Balance the individual privacy interest and the
public access interest, allowing access unless it would constitute a clearly
unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. [L 1988, c 262, pt of §1]