AHC - Access Hawaii Committee : 20150305 Meeting Minutes

Access Hawai‘i Committee Meeting Minutes

March 5, 2015

1:00 p.m.

 Video Conference Centers

Kalanimoku Building

1151 Punchbowl Street, Room B-10

Honolulu, Hawai`i 96813

 

 

Videoconference Centers (VCC)

           County of Hawaii, Hilo VCC     County of Maui, Maui VCC      County of Kauai, Lihue VCC

           Hilo State Office Bldg.              Maui State Office Bldg.            Lihue State Office Bldg.

           75 Aupuni St., Basement          54 S. High St., 3rd Floor          3060 Eiwa St., Basement

           Hilo, HI 96720                           Wailuku, HI 96793                   Lihue, HI  96766

 

 

Members Present

  • Sharon Wong, Acting Administrator, DAGS/Information and Communication Services Division (CIO/Chairperson’s designee)
  • Douglas Murdock, Comptroller, Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS)
  • Sarah Allen, Administrator, State Procurement Office (SPO)
  • Jennifer Brooks, Attorney, representing the Director of the Office of Information Practices (OIP)
  • Stuart Okumura, Coordinator, Department of the Attorney General (ATG), Juvenile Justice Information System
  • Catherine Awakuni Colόn, Director, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA)
  • Kevin Thornton, Director of Support Department, Judiciary
  • Keith Ho, Deputy Director, City and County of Honolulu
  • Donald Jacobs, Acting Director, County of Hawaii  (VCC)*
  • Jacob Verkerke, IS Manager, County of Maui  (VCC)*
  • Mandi Swanson, IT Project Leader, representing the CIO for the County of Kauai (Secondary representative)  (VCC)*

                       

Members Absent

  • Keone Kali, Chief Information Officer
  • Robert Su, IT Manager, Department of Taxation (DoTAX)
  • Senator Glenn Wakai, State Senate
  • Representative Chris Lee, State Representative

Other Attendees          

  • Mara Smith, Procurement Manager, SPO     
  • Valri Kunimoto, Deputy Attorney, ATG
  • Russell Castagnaro, General Manager, Hawaii Information Consortium (HIC)
  • Rosie Warfield, HIC
  • Teri Berschneider, HIC
  • Member of the public
  • Susan Bannister, ICSD

           

*Participated via videoconference center (VCC)

 

Meeting Business

 

         

I.             Call to Order and Determination of Quorum


Designated Chairperson Sharon Wong called the meeting to order at 1:03 p.m. at which time quorum was established and the requirements for public notice were made.    

 

II.             Approval of the December 4. 2014 Meeting Minutes

 

The committee reviewed the Access Hawaii Committee (AHC) December 4, 2014 meeting minutes.  Member Thornton made a motion to approve the meeting minutes, which was seconded by Member Brooks.  Vote was taken and the motion passed.

 

III.           Public Testimony

 

None.

 

IV.           Orientation and Overview of the AHC

 

HIC General Manager, Russell Castagnaro, provided an overview of the AHC for new committee members.  The history and overview can be found at the AHC website.

 

The procurement of the portal contract was done through the SPO.  HIC was awarded the first portal contract in 2000.  In 2008, a new Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued for the development of new portal services which included web development and hosting option.  Time and materials projects were also added because of the success of past projects.  The RFP included a three-year perpetual renewal cycle.  The renewal could be for any part of the three years with a one-year transitional period if the contract is not renewed. 

 

The HIC contract is on a SPO Vendor List.  A Service Level Agreement (SLA) and Statement of Work are developed between the HIC and its partners.  The AHC reviews and approves the SLAs.  Most of the projects are self-funded; HIC normally does not charge for the development of an application or the service.  There may be a transaction fee that is associated with each interaction which is normally composed of a payment processing portion, such as a credit card fee or a fee for the portal to maintain the project.  75-85% revenue comes from transactions, hosting, and time and materials.  HIC supports the entire life cycle-- the conception phase, developing, testing, and submitting improvements to the system.

 

The my.hawaii.gov portal was recognized by the 2015 Harvard Ash Center Bright Idea in Government.  The first application HIC did for the City & County of Honolulu was the Absentee Voter Ballot Application form.  46,000 customer service requests are processed at no cost to the state.

 

Chair Wong stated that Chapter 27G, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), identifies members of the committee and the role of committee.  The AHC oversees the portal manager (HIC) and ensures that the contract is implemented properly, meeting the reporting requirements, and approval of certain fees.  There is a Special Fund that assesses HIC $8,000 a month that goes into the special fund to be used to hire a portal program manager to act on behalf of the AHC to help with the management of the contract and portal manager.

 

Member Ho left at 1:55 p.m.  Member Murdock left at 2:10 p.m.

 

V.             Review of the Sunshine Law 

 

Member Brooks reviewed the Sunshine law, Hawaii’s open meeting law.  It applies to boards and pertains to discussions of board business, which is interpreted as items that are on a board’s agenda or likely to appear in the foreseeable future.  An item that the board is finished with or does not appear to address in the near future, is not board business.  Member Brooks covered what happens before, during, and after a board meeting. 

 

Before meeting:  The agenda is filed six calendar days before the meeting with the Lt. Governor’s office.  A mailing list of people who asked to receive the board’s notices and agendas is to be kept.  The agenda must list all items that will be considered.  The board can add minor things at the meeting by amending the agenda by two-thirds of the entire board vote to add an item.  The level of detail on an agenda should be enough to inform the public who want to attend the meeting and testify.  Attachments to the agenda are part of the agenda.  Acronyms and general references should not be used.  There is no need to specify if the board needs to take action on anything.  Ceremonial announcements do not need to be on the agenda since it will then become board’s business.

 

During meeting:  The public has the right to testify on any agenda item.  The board has the option to limit people’s comments to the agenda.  But the board cannot discuss what a public member comments on if it is not on the agenda.  Testimony does not include the right to question the board.  The board can, but is not required to, answer questions.  The person testifying is not required to state his or her name when giving oral or written testimony.  If the same testimony is given month after month, the board has to listen to the testimony.  The board can only act on agenda items. 

 

To enter into Executive Session (closed meeting), the board needs to vote publicly with two-thirds of the members present voting affirmative, and announce the purpose of the executive session with discussion limited to those topics that cannot discuss openly.  Executive Session should be listed on the agenda if it is foreseeable.  There are eight purposes in law that are legislatively approved.   

 

Chair Wong asked what kind of accommodations the board is allowed to make when publishing the agenda and the attachments.  Member Brooks stated that the Sunshine law does not seek disability accommodations, which is covered in others laws such as the American Disabilities Act.  However, the board will want to make accommodations. 

 

After meeting:  Meeting minutes is required to be available to the public after 30 days if requested.  Minutes do not need to be unanimous or adopted.  The minutes shall include the date, time, place of meeting, who was present, reflect what was discussed at the meeting, vote taken, details of the discussion, and who spoke.  Members may request that something be included in the minutes of the meeting.  The minutes of Executive Session should have the same level of detail but not be automatically available for public after 30 days.  These minutes should be disclosed to the extent that the disclosure does not frustrate the original purpose of the executive session.  Approval or adoption of minutes is not required. 

 

Outside meeting:  Chapter 92, Subsection 2.5, HRS, allows interaction between members.  Two members may talk about board business as long as they do not seek a commitment to vote.  Serial use is not allowed.  The next time the board meets and the agenda item is discussed, the two members may talk about it again. 

 

Permitted interaction groups:  At the first meeting, members are named to the investigative group (or sub-committee) and the scope of their authority is set.  They can freely discuss matters amongst themselves and non-board members.  However, a sub-committee is like a mini board, which would follow the same rules as the board.  The sub-committee is not allowed to discuss matters with members outside of the group. 

 

Second meeting:  The group reports back to the board.  The board can ask for clarification but no discussion is allowed.  This allows the public to hear the report and given a chance to testify at the next meeting. The group dissolves after this meeting. 

 

Third meeting:  The item is put on the agenda, the board may discuss and take action.  Member Verkerke asked if the board is required to attach a report to the agenda.  Member Brooks stated that attaching reports to an agenda is not required but it ensures that the agenda is adequately detailed.  Another option is to have the item on the agenda with a list detailing the issues. 

 

Chair Wong asked what happens if members leave the meeting early and quorum is lost.  Member Brooks explained that quorum is required to hold a meeting.  The group that is left may hear public testimony and presentations on agenda items in order to accommodate members of the public, with minutes taken. 

 

 

VI.           AHC Hawaii Information Consortium (HIC) General Manager’s Report

 

Mr. Castagnaro presented the report.  He noted that the HIC now provides the General Manager’s Report, meeting minutes, and other reports in an accessible html version.  In the future, members will be provided the link rather than pdf versions of the documents.  

 

Member Allen had questions over the financial section of HIC’s report.  She asked about the negative amount under Shareholder Equity.  Mr. Castagnaro explained that the figure reflects an earlier investment that the company made on upgrades.  The amount under Liabilities is the money that HIC is holding for the state.  He will provide the breakdown and more details of their balance sheet at the next meeting.

 

Member Jacobs left the meeting at 2:20 p.m.

 

VII.         HIC Report:  Review and Approval of Fee Schedule; Discussion and Appropriate Action

 

The Fee Schedule is an update of all HIC fee services.  In the future, the schedule will be an appendix to the General Manager’s Report. 

VIII.       Update on the Filling the Portal Program Manager Position

 

Chair Wong received three applications for review and will schedule interviews.  She explained that this exempt position oversees the Portal Manager, which is currently HIC.  The AHC collects $8,000 per month from HIC to support the Portal Program Manager position.

 

IX.           Portal Contract Renewal Discussion and Appropriate Action

 

Mr. Castagnaro stated that the HIC Portal Manager contract’s three-year renewal period expires on January 2, 2016.  According to the contract, it can be extended for an indefinite number of 36-month periods.   He would like the board to decide at the next meeting whether they will seek to extend or cancel the contract.  HIC will gather feedback from their customers including complaints, and provide more detail and information on its financial section and security audits.  Chair Wong will provide the contract for AHC members.  Member Verkeke proposed that the committee meet in Executive Session at the next meeting to discuss the extension of the contract.

 

X.             Announcement

 

  1. Next meeting:  June 4, 2015 to be rescheduled; Mr. Castagnaro will be out of town.

 

XI.           Adjournment

 

Member Thornton left the meeting at 2:45 p.m.  Meeting ended due to lack of quorum.