Colorado Newsline: Democrats at the Colorado Legislature are increasingly hostile to open government, and they have learned that they will pay little or no price for drawing a curtain around their work.

But there is a cost, paid by the people. As elected officials block their view of lawmaking, the people’s value as constituents drops. Public servants in America are supposed to be accountable to the people, but if the people can’t see what their government representatives are doing, they have no way to exercise meaningful accountability.

This principle is clearly illustrated as the Legislature prepares to meet next week for a special session on property taxes. During the short session, lawmakers will consider tax cut legislation that was proposed in secret and discussed in the shadows, and it will be debated with the most limited public involvement possible, even though property tax policy affects every resident of the state.

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