HI SB2294

Establishes a statutory duty requiring each unit of government in Hawaii and its political subdivisions to exercise reasonable care in maintaining all government records required to be available for public inspection under Chapter 92F.

Mandates that government agencies issue instructions and guidelines to implement this requirement and ensure all employees and officers responsible for records are informed of their obligations.

Creates a rebuttable presumption that agencies exercised reasonable care if they adhered to a duly adopted records retention and destruction policy, which they can use as a defense in legal actions.

Limits damages in lawsuits alleging negligent breach of the reasonable care duty to general compensatory damages only, excluding punitive damages.

Takes effect on July 1, 2018, and responds to the Hawaii Supreme Court's 2014 decision in Molfino v. Yuen that government agencies had no duty to maintain records absent statutory requirement.