Several of the 24 entries stood out as glaring illustrations of the barriers and attitudes journalists and members of the public sometimes encounter when they request government records or otherwise try to monitor what their public officials are doing.
The Douglas County board of education isn’t the only Colorado school board recently accused of skirting the state’s sunshine laws. That’s why the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition made school board transparency the topic of its 2022 Sunshine Week panel.
A committee of state lawmakers endorsed a tax credit for small businesses that spend money to advertise in Colorado news outlets.
Lawmakers advanced a bipartisan bill that requires Colorado’s online checkbook system to display the names of vendors who do business with the state government.
Responding in part to a recent court ruling in Larimer County, state lawmakers want to add an exception to Colorado’s Sunshine Law that lets school board members meet behind closed doors to interview superintendent finalists, rank them, and instruct staff to begin contract negotiations with one or more.
Redacted portions of an investigator’s report on sexual misconduct allegations against Denver school board member Tay Anderson cannot be publicly disclosed because of a specific exemption in the Colorado Open Records Act, a judge has ruled.
The Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition and other organizations are asking the state’s highest court to review an appellate court ruling that, if allowed to stand, will impact the First Amendment rights of lawyers to make statements about public-interest litigation.
What’s your favorite (or should we say least favorite) example from the past two or three years of someone blatantly obstructing the public’s right to know in Colorado? It could involve a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request, a Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act (CCJRA) request, access to a meeting under the Colorado Open Meetings Law, or access to the court system.
A state House committee killed legislation to require the online publication of bill drafts more than a month before the start of each session of the Colorado General Assembly.
With civil court records now free to access online in Colorado, the state may soon also post the text of high-court opinions — going back to statehood — in a searchable format and at no cost to the public.
