A decision by legislative leaders means that Coloradans will be able to watch — not just hear — what happens in committee meetings when the 2026 session of the General Assembly convenes Jan. 14.
Coloradans fought for press freedom and freedom of information in 2025 in settings as small as the Eastern Plains town of Bennett and as big as the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
Leaders of the Colorado General Assembly still haven’t decided whether to provide video coverage of committee meetings during the 2026 legislative session that begins in January, but House Speaker Julie McCluskie expressed her support for the idea.
Enabling video on the system that provides committee-meeting audio is a cost-efficient way to make the legislature more accessible and more accountable to Coloradans.
Nearly 9,900 people have viewed 19 legislative committee meetings since a video pilot program began July 30, the director of Legislative Council told Colorado legislative leaders.
People who tuned into July 30 state budget briefings for Colorado legislative leaders saw video and slides — rather than just getting an audio feed — as part of a pilot program that goes through Oct. 31.
Colorado legislative leaders voted 4-1 to test video coverage of General Assembly committee meetings in five rooms of the state Capitol complex from August to November.
A legislative effort to strengthen Colorado’s two-year-old law requiring the livestreaming of criminal court proceedings ended with Gov. Jared Polis’ veto of House Bill 25-1147.
Lawmakers made another unsuccessful attempt to weaken the Colorado Open Records Act during the 2025 state legislative session.
Gov. Jared Polis’ veto of a bill to extend Colorado Open Records Act response deadlines for requests made by the public and businesses will stand after legislators abandoned their effort to override it.
