House committee removes some Senate amendments from CORA modernization bill
A bill to modernize Colorado’s public records law survived a state House panel in a form closer to the way it was introduced earlier in the legislative session.
Colorado public records
‘Cooling-down’ period for open-records disputes advances in Colorado legislature
A required “cooling-down period” aimed at resolving open-records disputes without litigation continued its easy journey in the Colorado legislature.
Lawmakers endorse optional ‘cooling-off period’ to resolve records disputes without litigation
A Colorado House committee endorsed a completely reworked proposal to encourage the resolution of open-records disputes without litigation. The new version of HB 17-1177 essentially makes mediation optional.
A $6,750 deposit to search the city clerk’s emails? Records retention an issue for small governments
Emails of public officials are open for inspection under the Colorado Open Records Act, depending on their content. Such messages can reveal important insights into how government decisions are made, but using CORA to obtain emails can be a frustrating and sometimes futile exercise because records-retention policies tend to be vague and discretionary.
Lawmaker offers proposal for resolving open-records disputes through mediation
A Colorado House bill is intended to encourage records requesters and government entities to resolve disputes through mediation rather than in the court system.
Commentary: It’s time to bring Colorado’s open-records act into the 21st century
For half a century, public records laws have been indispensable tools for disproving “alternative facts” and getting to the truth about government spending, activities and decision making. But in our state, the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) is showing its age, especially regarding access to the myriad records maintained in spreadsheets and databases by state agencies, cities, counties and other taxpayer-funded entities covered by the law.
House committee again rejects bill to make judicial branch records subject to CORA
It happened to be Groundhog Day when a House committee killed Rep. Polly Lawrence’s latest effort to make administrative records of Colorado’s judicial branch subject to the state’s open records law.
Fake news to ‘fishing expeditions’: CFOIC looks back at 2016
Will 2016 be remembered as the year we realized just how much our democracy depends on an informed citizenry? The fake news epidemic was one of many issues the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition highlighted in 2016 or wrote about on its blog.
CFOIC honors Moore for records battles: ‘He refused to take no for an answer’
Journalists must “double down on the public trust” and governments must “release their stranglehold on information about the public’s business,” former Denver Post Editor Greg Moore said, accepting an award from the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition.
How to resolve open-government disputes without suing the government
Litigate or give up. Those are your legal options in Colorado if a government entity improperly withholds public records, charges you out-of-line fees for inspection or drags its feet on a records request. The same is true if you suspect that a public body violated the Open Meetings Law. In many other states, however, litigation is not the only way to challenge FOI denials.