LWVHC's Program Planning Process
Each year's program plan is considered and voted on at our Annual Meetings in April. This program plan reflects the activities we will focus on, and how we will promote the League's positions on these public policy issues to government officials, the media and the public.
Programs for 2020 - 2021
A) Voter Education & Access
Chair: Bradley Clark
Purpose: Support the dissemination of information concerning election deadlines, issues, and candidates; support registration, ballot privacy and safety, access for all; support vote-by-mail.
Activities: The League has had and will continue to carry out numerous exchanges with the Office of Elections on voter information dissemination and automatic voter registration, taking into account the 2020 elections and our new vote-by-mail process. With respect to: (1) voter information, League will follow and provide necessary inputs to state legislative measures addressing voter information packets, and will also support the increase in locations where voter service centers are located; (2) vote-by-mail, League will track and examine the implementation issues that impact voters; and (3) voter registration and youth voter education/outreach, League will continue to carry out its registration and informational activities.
B) Sunshine in Government
Chairs: Linda Arlington
Purpose: Support transparency in government decision-making and public records, reflecting LWVUS 1984 position namely that “[We] believe that democratic government depends upon informed and active participation at all levels of government [and] that governmental bodies must protect the citizen’s right to know by giving adequate notice of proposed actions, holding open meetings and making public records accessible.”
The Sunshine Committee has monitored and reports on: the actions of the Hawai‘i County Council, the Charter Commission, and the state Office of Information Practices; legislation affecting the Sunshine Law (Chapter 92 of the Hawai‘i Revised Statutes); the Uniform Information Practices Act; and LWVHI advocacy initiatives.
Activities: League will continue to monitor the County Council’s actions relating to contingency funds and other key issues related to transparency in government. League will also acknowledge the Council’s positive actions which reflect transparency and public dissemination.
C) Ethics in Government
Chair: Margaret Drake
Purpose: Promote an open governmental system that is representative, accountable, effective and responsive.
Activities: League will continue to monitor the Board of Ethics, taking into account the challenges stemming from the Board’s going into executive session and its non-adherence to the Sunshine Law.
D) Support the Puna & Kau Sub-Division Governance Study
Activities: League will support this study, to the extent practicable, taking into account the objectives of the study which are to: (1) discover levels of transparency of each sub-division governing body; (2) assess accountability to stakeholders related to financial matters and records; (3) learn clarity of communication via website, public notices, signage, etc., (4) evaluate adherence to bylaws and other legal responsibilities; and (5) assess elections processes for leadership positions and discover the process for responding to stakeholder grievances.