HAR § 18-231-19.5-04 — Written opinions; segregation of information not to be disclosed

(a) The department shall segregate the following information from the text of any written opinion open to public inspection: (1) Confidential, commercial, or financial information, as defined in subsection (b); (2) Identifying details, as defined in subsection (c); (3) Personal privacy information, as defined in subsection (d); and (4) Trade secrets, as defined in subsection (e). (b) “Confidential, commercial, or financial information” means: (1) Any information that is made confidential under applicable law, other than a law making tax return information confidential; (2) Any information that would be privileged from disclosure under article V of the Hawaii Rules of Evidence (with respect to privileges), section 626-1, HRS; and (3) Any information the disclosure of which, considering that identifying numbers and identifying details are segregated, would nevertheless cause substantial harm to the competitive position of any person. Confidential, commercial, or financial information does not include information that has been previously disclosed to the public, such as financial information contained in the published annual reports of widely held public corporations. (c) “Identifying details” mean: (1) Names, addresses, and identifying numbers (including telephone, license, social security, employer identification, general excise/use identification, credit card, and selective service numbers) of any person mentioned in the written opinion; and (2) Any other information that would permit a person generally knowledgeable about the appropriate community to identify any person mentioned in the written opinion. (A) “Appropriate community”, as used in this paragraph, means that group of persons who would be able to associate a particular person with a category of transactions one of which is described in the written opinion. The appropriate community may vary according to the nature of the transaction that is the subject of the written opinion. Example: If a sugar mill proposes to enter a transaction involving the purchase and installation of boilers, the appropriate community may include all sugar millers and HRS §231-19.5 HRS §231-19.5