Colorado bill would open records on completed police internal affairs investigations
Colorado would join a dozen other states that require public disclosure of internal records on police misconduct under legislation introduced in the House.
Articles by jroberts
Colorado lawmakers move to close autopsy reports on the deaths of minors
State lawmakers took action to close public access to autopsy reports on the deaths of minors, approving a bill requested by county coroners who say they’re concerned about the privacy of families of children who have died.
Colorado ethics commission revises proposed rules of access to public records
The Colorado Independent Ethics Commission has substantially revised its proposed records access rules in response to criticism from news media organizations, citizens and the Colorado Secretary of State’s office.
Why doesn’t the Winter Olympics exploratory committee comply with the Sunshine Law?
The city says the Denver Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Exploratory Committee, formed by Mayor Michael Hancock, is not bound by the Colorado Open Meetings Law and, therefore, it can meet however it sees fit. But there is a solid legal argument that the state’s open meetings law indeed does apply to the Winter Olympics exploratory committee. And if that’s the case, the public should be notified of all meetings and the committee should bar the public from attending only under the limited circumstances allowed by the law.
Judicial branch CORA bill finally makes progress, but now only affects sexual harassment records
After trying for three years to make the state judicial branch subject to the Colorado Open Records Act, Rep. Polly Lawrence finally notched a victory when a legislative committee passed an extremely limited version of her perennial bill.
Phase-out of required newspaper publication of county notices moves ahead in state legislature
State lawmakers took another step toward phasing out the required publication of county public notices in Colorado newspapers.
Police monitor: Jail death of Michael Marshall shows need for guidelines on the release of video
The Denver Department of Public Safety, which includes the police and sheriff’s departments, should publish written guidelines for releasing video of critical incidents such as the 2015 death of jail inmate Michael Marshall, the city’s police monitor recommended this week.
CFOIC honors Sen. Kefalas, citizen champion Anna for open government efforts
The Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition honored state Sen. John Kefalas for his work in the legislature to expand Coloradans’ access to public records.
State lawmakers target scammers who charge much more than county clerks for copies of deeds
A bipartisan bill in the Colorado legislature is aimed at stopping “predators” who trick homeowners into paying exorbitant fees for copies of their deeds.
State lawmakers once again consider whether CORA should cover Colorado’s judicial branch
For the third consecutive year, a committee of lawmakers discussed whether the administrative records of the state’s judicial branch should be subject to the Colorado Open Records Act. This time, the House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee didn’t kill Rep. Polly Lawrence’s proposal as it did in 2016 and 2017. At least not yet.