Colorado Public Radio:  In what may be a first, Great Outdoors Colorado — the fund that distributes tens of millions of dollars in lottery money to recreational programs each year — has asked a judge to block an audit of its operations.

The state auditor says no one in her office can recall an entity of the state ever challenging an audit request in court.

The constitutional amendment that created Great Outdoors Colorado mandates the organization undergo an annual audit, but it also says the fund – known as GOCO – should be free of legislative interference.

In the past GOCO has cooperated with financial audits of its books. This year, for the first time, state auditor Dianne Ray wants to do more than check the finances. In January she informed GOCO her office would be conducting a performance audit, looking at the board’s internal operations, including how well it’s meeting its constitutional mission.

On Monday, Ray told the Legislature’s Audit Committee that GOCO’s board stopped responding to her staff’s requests in February, and then in June asked a judge to allow it to opt out of the audit entirely. In return the Auditor’s Office has sued GOCO to force it submit to the review. The complaint is pending.

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