Opinion Ltr. No. F26-02
January 29, 2026
Communications About Board Business Outside of a Meeting
While a meeting of the Hawaiian Homes Commission (Commission) was in recess on January 16, 2024, the Chair and two members of the Commission continued discussing a topic the Commission had been discussing during the meeting. The Commission then scheduled a “special meeting” on January 26, 2024, to discuss the topic. Before the special meeting, the Chair sent a text message to another member asking that the member support the action, and then sent a voicemail asking the member to discuss the action. At the special meeting, at the advice of the Commission’s deputy attorney general, the Commission informed the public about these discussions to mitigate any potential harm to the public.
OIP found that the Chair and two board members discussed board business outside of a meeting during the recess in the January 16, 2024, meeting, and concluded that this discussion violated the Sunshine Law. OIP also found that the Chair’s text message to another member discussed board business and sought a commitment to vote, and concluded that the text message violated the Sunshine Law. OIP found that the Chair’s voicemail to another member did not seek a commitment to vote and did not involve any other members, and concluded that the voicemail did not violate the Sunshine Law because it fell under the two-person permitted interaction found in section 92-2.5(a), Hawaii Revised Statutes.