Fort Collins Coloradoan: Proposed last-minute changes to to Sen. John Kefalas’ open records bill could remove swaths of currently available information from disclosure, open records advocates say.

The bill, which has been set for hearing twice and twice been delayed, will be heard at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday by the Senate’s State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.

Chief Colorado Deputy Attorney General David Blake introduced the changes during the flurry of Kefalas’ bill, SB17-040, being pulled and rescheduled.

The intent of the bill is to make existing public records available in a digital format if requested.

The proposed amendments would add exemptions to personal and confidential information in public records. The exemptions include names and addresses of private citizens.

The proposed amendments could also give government agencies broader powers to reject records requests based on interpretations of what is personal information, said Peg Perl, senior counsel for Colorado Ethics Watch.

It could have broad implications for access to public information, from insurance companies verifying if a person has a driver’s license to who is on the governor’s calendar, she said.

“It could affect anything that has to do with property records or even contracts,” Perl said. “The public wouldn’t be able to know who is getting city contracts.”

Visit Fort Collins Coloradoan for more.