Remote meeting by interactive conference technology; notice; quorum
HRS §92-3.7
in effect92-3.7. Remote meeting by interactive conference technology; notice; quorum
(a) A board may hold a remote meeting by interactive conference technology; provided that the interactive conference technology used by the board allows audiovisual interaction among all members of the board participating in the meeting and all members of the public attending the meeting, except as otherwise provided under this section; provided further that there is at least one meeting location that is open to the public and has an audiovisual connection. A board holding a remote meeting pursuant to this section shall not be required to allow members of the public to join board members in person at nonpublic locations where board members are physically present or to identify those locations in the notice required by section 92-7; provided that at the meeting, each board member shall state the name of any person eighteen years of age or older who is present at the nonpublic location with the member; provided further that the name of a person under the age of eighteen years shall be stated if the person has a personal business, property, or financial interest on any issue before the board at the meeting. The notice required by section 92-7 shall:
(1) List at least one meeting location that is open
to the public that shall have an audiovisual connection; and
(2) Inform members of the public how to
contemporaneously:
(A) Remotely view the video and audio of the
meeting through internet streaming or other means; and
(B) Provide remote oral testimony in a manner
that allows:
(i) Board members and other meeting
participants to hear the testimony; and
(ii) The testifier to be visible to board
members and other meeting participants upon request by the testifier.
The board may provide additional locations open for
public participation. The notice required by section 92-7 shall list any
additional locations open for public participation and specify, in the event an
additional location loses its audiovisual connection to the remote meeting,
whether the meeting will continue without that location or will be
automatically recessed to restore communication as provided in subsection (c).
(b) For a remote meeting held by interactive
conference technology pursuant to this section:
(1) The interactive conference technology used by the
board shall allow interaction among all members of the board participating in
the meeting and all members of the public attending the meeting;
(2) Except as provided in subsections (c) and (d), a
quorum of board members participating in the meeting shall be visible and
audible to other members and the public during the meeting; provided that no
other meeting participants shall be required to be visible during the meeting;
(3) Any board member participating in a meeting by
interactive conference technology shall be considered present at the meeting
for the purpose of determining compliance with the quorum and voting
requirements of the board;
(4) At the start of the meeting, the presiding
officer shall announce the names of the participating members;
(5) All votes shall be conducted by roll call unless
unanimous; and
(6) Boards shall record meetings open to the public,
when practicable, and make the recording of any meeting electronically
available to the public as soon as practicable after a meeting and until a time
as the minutes required by section 92-9 are electronically posted on the
board's website. Boards are encouraged to keep recordings available on their
website.
(c) A meeting held by interactive conference
technology shall be automatically recessed for up to thirty minutes to restore
communication when audiovisual communication cannot be maintained with all
members participating in the meeting or with the public location identified in
the board's notice pursuant to subsection (a)(1) or with the remote public
broadcast identified in the board's notice pursuant to subsection (a)(2)(A).
This subsection shall not apply based on the inability of a member of the public
to maintain an audiovisual connection to the remote public broadcast, unless
the remote public broadcast itself is not transmitting an audiovisual link to
the meeting. The meeting may reconvene when either audiovisual communication
is restored, or audio-only communication is established after an unsuccessful
attempt to restore audiovisual communication, but only if the board has
provided reasonable notice to the public as to how to access the reconvened
meeting after an interruption to communication. If audio-only communication is
established, then each speaker shall be required to state their name before
making their remarks. Within fifteen minutes after audio-only communication is
established, copies of nonconfidential visual aids that are required by or
brought to the meeting by board members or as part of a scheduled presentation
shall be made available either by posting on the Internet or by other means to
all meeting participants, including those participating remotely, and those
agenda items for which visual aids are not available for all participants shall
not be acted upon at the meeting. If it is not possible to reconvene the
meeting as provided in this subsection within thirty minutes after an
interruption to communication and the board has not provided reasonable notice
to the public as to how the meeting will be continued at an alternative date
and time, then the meeting shall be automatically terminated.
(d) During executive meetings from which the
public has been excluded, board members shall be audible to other authorized
participants but shall not be required to be visible. To preserve the
executive nature of any portion of a meeting closed to the public, the
presiding officer shall publicly state the names and titles of all authorized
participants, and, upon convening the executive session, all participants shall
confirm to the presiding officer that no unauthorized person is present or able
to hear them at their remote locations or via another audio or audiovisual
connection. The person organizing the interactive conference technology shall
confirm that no unauthorized person has access to the executive meeting as
indicated on the control panels of the interactive conference technology being
used for the meeting, if applicable.
(e) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a
board from removing or blocking any person who wilfully disrupts or compromises
the conduct of a meeting.
[L 2021, c 220, §2; am L 2022, c 177, §2; am L 2023,
c 125, §1; am L 2024, c 12, §2]
Source: Hawaii State Legislature (capitol.hawaii.gov), via Internet Archive capturesURL: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol02_Ch0046-0115/HRS0092/HRS_0092-0003_0007.htmFetched: 11/10/2026