Complete Colorado: There is an old saying attributed to Otto Von Bismarck: “If you like laws and sausages you should never watch either one being made.” Certainly, this applies to sausage making, but in 1972 the citizens of Colorado decided that it should not apply to lawmaking. So, via a citizen’s initiative we implemented the Colorado Open Meetings Law: also known as the “Sunshine Law.”

With only modest modifications, this law has remained in effect for over fifty years, ensuring citizens, journalists, yes, lobbyists and even the executive branch of Colorado’s state government, the capacity to view the legislative “sausage making process.” The law does this by requiring open meetings, and it defines a meeting quite broadly as “any kind of gathering convened to discuss public business whether in person, by telephone, electronically or other means of communications.” The transparency this law mandates is arguably one of the great success stories of our democratic process because it largely ensures that citizens can learn what their legislators are considering so that they can provide their perspective and input.

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