Current through February, 2024
(a) The department shall segregate the
following information from the text of any written opinion open to public
inspection:
(1) Confidential, commercial, or
financial information, as defined in subsection (b);
(2) Identifying details, as defined in
subsection (c);
(3) Personal
privacy information, as defined in subsection (d); and
(4) Trade secrets, as defined in subsection
(e).
(b) "Confidential,
commercial, or financial information" means:
(1) Any information that is made confidential
under applicable law, other than a law making tax return information
confidential;
(2) Any information
that would be privileged from disclosure under article V of the Hawaii Rules of
Evidence (with respect to privileges), section
626-1, HRS;
and
(3) Any information the
disclosure of which, considering that identifying numbers and identifying
details are segregated, would nevertheless cause substantial harm to the
competitive position of any person.
Confidential, commercial, or financial information does not
include information that has been previously disclosed to the public, such as
financial information contained in the published annual reports of widely held
public corporations.
(c) "Identifying details" mean:
(1) Names, addresses, and identifying numbers
(including telephone, license, social security, employer identification,
general excise/use identification, credit card, and selective service numbers)
of any person mentioned in the written opinion; and
(2) Any other information that would permit a
person generally knowledgeable about the appropriate community to identify any
person mentioned in the written opinion.
(A)
"Appropriate community", as used in this paragraph, means that group of persons
who would be able to associate a particular person with a category of
transactions one of which is described in the written opinion. The appropriate
community may vary according to the nature of the transaction that is the
subject of the written opinion.
Example: If a sugar mill proposes to enter a
transaction involving the purchase and installation of boilers, the appropriate
community may include all sugar millers and boiler manufacturers in Hawaii, but
if the installation process is a unique process of which everyone in national
industry is aware, the appropriate community also might include the national
industrial community. On the other hand, if the sugar mill proposes to enter a
transaction involving the purchase of land on which to construct a building to
house the boilers, the appropriate community also may include those residing or
doing business within the geographical locale of the land to be
purchased.
(B) In
determining whether information would permit a person to identify any person
mentioned in the written opinion, the department shall consider:
(i) Information available to the public at
the time the written opinion is made open or subject to inspection;
and
(ii) Information that will
later become available; provided the department is made aware of that
information and the potential that the information may identify any person.
(d) "Personal privacy information" means any
information the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy.
(1) A clearly
unwarranted invasion of personal privacy exists if from analysis of information
submitted in support of the request for the written opinion it is determined
that the public interest purpose for requiring disclosure is outweighed by the
potential harm attributable to the invasion of personal privacy.
(2) Personal privacy information includes
embarrassing or sensitive information that a reasonable person would not reveal
to the public under ordinary circumstances, details of a pending divorce,
medical treatment for physical or mental disease or injury, adoption of a
child, the amount of a gift, and political preferences.
(3) Personal privacy information does not
include any information that has been previously disclosed to the
public.
(e) "Trade
secret" means any formula, pattern, device, or compilation of information that
is used in a person's business, and that gives the person an opportunity to
obtain an advantage over competitors who do not know or use it.
(1) "Formula, pattern, device, or compilation
of information", as used in this subsection, includes a formula for a chemical
compound; a process of manufacturing, treating, or preserving materials; a
pattern for a machine or other device; or a list of customers.
(2) The subject of a trade secret must not be
of public knowledge, or of general knowledge in the trade or
business.
(f) Whenever
information is segregated from the text of a written opinion, non-identifying
information shall be substituted in a manner the department deems
appropriate.
