The Big Island Press Club awards its annual meritorious Torch of Light Award to state Sen. Dru Mamo Kanuha, a Democrat representing Kona and Ka’u, and the Lava Tube dishonor award to a group of 10 state senators, including Sen. Joy San Buenaventura, a Democrat representing Puna and Ka’u.
The Torch of Light award is given to an individual or entity for illuminating the public’s right to know, while the Lava Tube dishonor is given for a lack of communication and keeping the public in the dark. The awards are announced yearly on March 16, Freedom of Information Day, the birthday of James Madison, who was widely regarded as the father of the U.S. Constitution and the leading advocate of openness in government among our founding fathers.
Kanuha was selected as the “Torch of Light” awardee this year for being the main introducer of Senate Bill 134 in the 2021 Legislature, which, if passed into law, would have prohibited the governor or county mayors from suspending requests for public records or vital statistics during a declared state of emergency.
The bill came about a year after Gov. David Ige signed a proclamation during the novel coronavirus pandemic that suspended the state’s Uniform Information Practices Act, a law that specifies government records are open to public inspection with limited privacy exceptions. Even though Ige, a Democrat, rolled back the blanket suspension of the UIPA in May 2020, he removed the deadline of 10 working days state agencies have to respond to records requests.
The bill died in a Senate-House conference committee and Ige received the BIPC’s Lava Tube dishonor for his actions in 2021.
The BIPC slected a group of 10 state senators to share the Lava Tube dishonor. Their selection stems from their introduction and support of Senate Bill 720, which, if passed would have all but exempted county councils from the state’s open meetings law, commonly referred to as the “Sunshine Law.”
The measure, if passed, would have allowed “the presiding member of a county council meeting (to) temporarily recess the meeting, during which members may conduct business off the record.”
The bill was co-introduced by former Sen. Kalani English, who has made a plea deal with federal authorities for accepting bribes and has since resigned, and fellow Maui Democrat Keith-Agaran. Also signing on were Kim and fellow Oahu Democrats Michelle Kidani, Bennette Misalucha, Clarence Nishihara, Maile Shimabukuro, Brian Taniguchi and Glenn Wakai, plus Sen. Joy San Buenaventura, who represents Puna and Ka’u, and was the only Big Island senator to support the measure.