The Sorry State Of Public Information In Hawaii – And Why You Should Care… Gov. David Ige gutted the state’s public records law in the name of the coronavirus. Now it’s the norm for government agencies to ignore requests for information
As the Civil Beat reporter covering the City and County of Honolulu, an important part of my job is filing requests with the government for public records.
City and state documents often reveal what politicians would never announce at a press conference and are one of the most powerful tools journalists and members of the public have to hold their leaders accountable.
But since Gov. David Ige suspended Hawaii’s public records law with a proclamation in March — and repeatedly extended the suspension since then — government officials have been ignoring requests or dragging their feet when it comes to providing information that is important for you, the public, to know about how your government is operating and spending your tax dollars.
