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Non-certified HI COLB’s are discloseable to anybody who asks to see, according to the HDOH Administrative Rules that Fukino illegally hid until a year after the election...The only reason Lakin even had to go through this rigamarole trying to see the documentation is because the HDOH is a bunch of lawless thugs who refuse to obey the laws

You and I had an email exchange about this in the past. If anyone didn't follow all details of this, they might think it's cut and dried and they would get the wrong impression from your assertions.

The reality is that the Hawaiian HDOH rules are a mess (and certainly the HDOH bears the responsibility for that). You cited a 1955 document that has handwritten cross outs and handwritten notations.

A much later statute, HRS338-18(a) specifically contradicts the "you can have a noncertified copy" portion of the 1955 rules, by mandating what is protected. HRS338-18(a) forbids anyone "to disclose information contained in vital statistics records, or to copy or issue a copy of all or part of any such record, except as authorized by this part or by rules adopted by the department of health."

So the legal question for the lawyers around would be whether the "as authorized by this part" supercedes the "by rules adopted" in the 1955 document. I would say that is nowhere as definitive as you make it sound that Hawaii DOH is obliged to release a noncertified copy.

Alfred Itamura of the Ombudsman’s Office had no problem figuring it out, and he said the reason the HDOH wouldn’t be disciplined for their refusal to disclose the non-certified abbreviated BC is because it was “reasonable” for them to refuse it since the Administrative Rules use the word “may” rather than “shall”. But then the word used is “may” for BC’s for the registrant him/herself also and state statute requires that be disclosed to the registrant. So even though the rules say “may”, the law says “shall”.

And Itamura also implied what he and I both already know - that under UIPA what is authorized to be disclosed MUST be disclosed.

So the HDOH’s claims that they CAN’T disclose the non-certified COLB is flat-out false, as acknowledged by Itamura. IOW, Itamura admitted that HRS 338-18(a) doesn’t contradict the Administrative Rules. HRS 338-18(a) gives lawful authority to the rules’ disclosure allowances.

And UIPA goes one step farther, to say that what state law allows to be disclosed MUST be disclosed upon request.