Yes, that's my understanding. From today's Advertiser:
Hawai'i's disclosure law (Hawai'i Revised Statutes 338-18) states that "it shall be unlawful for any person to permit inspection of, or to disclose information contained in vital statistics records, or to copy or issue a copy of all or part on any such record ... "The law further states that the Health Department "shall not permit inspection of public health statistics records, or issue a certified copy of any such record or part thereof, unless it is satisfied that the applicant has a direct and tangible interest in the record."
The most that Governor Lingle did was to admonish state officials to adhere to the law.
Why do not the American people have a direct and tangible interest?
I guess we need to know what is meant by ‘sealed’. The Hawaiian law allows for the certificates to be seen or accessed under certain conditions, but as I understand it, a certificate which has been sealed due to adoption, cannot be accessed by that person.