Just how confidential should confidential investigations of harassment at the Capitol be?

The Colorado Independent: Concerns over privacy have a select group of lawmakers at odds for how they should reform the statehouse policy on sexual harassment.

A six-member panel set up earlier this year to review changes to the Capitol’s harassment policy is meeting one last time this summer with hopes of crafting recommendations ahead of the 2019 legislative session.

But philosophical disagreements among the committee members — half of whom are Republicans and half of whom are Democrats — is becoming more apparent as they hammer through a list of proposed policy changes outlined in a 235-page report party leaders commissioned earlier this year.

Chief among the disagreements involves how much access lawmakers should be given to investigations into allegations of sexual harassment.

When the Legislative Workplace Interim Study Committee met in a nearly empty committee room on Thursday, members sparred over whether a proposed disciplinary panel should have access to an unredacted investigation report.

Some members of the interim committee said the panel should have this detailed information, especially if its members could be making recommendations to expel a lawmaker from office.

“This is the core of the problem,” said Sen. Bob Gardner, a Republican who represents Colorado Springs. “If we are going to recommend disciplining a member, then it has to be made on information that is complete.

He added: “Down to names.”

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