Maui County is working to make it easier to request and receive public records.
In accordance with Hawaiʻi law, an online records management portal will launch on Jan. 24.
The Uniform Information Practice Act (UIPA) records management portal with GovQA software will process and manage requests from citizens and the media for public records and information, such as electronic documents, videos and audio files.
County officials said they received an unprecedented high volume of records requests following the Maui Wildfires in August.
The new portal will cover departments most impacted by fire-related requests, which are the Department of Fire and Public Safety, Maui Police Department, Maui Emergency Management Agency, Office of the Mayor, Department of Management, Department of Planning, Department of Public Works, Department of the Corporation Counsel, and Department of Water Supply.
The county plans to expand the new portal to include all departments in the future.
The new records request system will allow people to track their UIPA requests online and standardize workflows for employees. The system also reduces paperwork and frees up staff time to work on other important business.
