Despite a looming inflationary increase in fees, state lawmakers in the 2023 legislative session never addressed the often-high cost of obtaining public records in Colorado but did vote to eliminate some nagging obstacles for users of the Colorado Open Records Act.
State and local elected officials could block anyone from their private social media accounts for bullying, harassment, intimidation or “any reason” under a bill endorsed by Colorado lawmakers.
As amended by the Colorado House, an open meetings bill still significantly weakens Coloradans’ ability to enforce a 22-year-old provision in the Sunshine Law requiring school boards and other local public bodies to announce the topics of closed-door meetings with some specificity.
Recently retired Denver attorney Marc Flink spent decades fighting alongside news organizations for public access to the records and workings of government — and played a leading role in some of the most consequential First Amendment cases in recent Colorado history.
A 2021 Colorado Court of Appeals opinion on what lawyers can tell the press about pending class-action lawsuits will chill “legitimate speech that allows the media to keep the public informed on matters of significant public concern,” the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition and news associations argue in a brief filed recently with the Colorado Supreme Court.
The Gunnison County Library District has joined the Crested Butte News and the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition in asking the Colorado Court of Appeals to overturn a judge’s ruling that shields the identities of people who want library books banned or reclassified.
Draft rules implementing a new Colorado consumer privacy law have been revised to address news organizations’ concerns about how the law could affect journalism activities.
Like last year, court rulings dominate CFOIC’s 2022 list of transparency highs and lows, with perhaps the most closely watched decision coming nearly three weeks after a shooter killed five people and wounded more than a dozen others at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs on Nov. 19.
Three Lakewood City Council members are raising free-speech concerns after Mayor Adam Paul muted two of their microphones while they spoke during a Zoom meeting convened to consider changes to the city manager’s contract.
The Colorado Supreme Court declined to review issues in a Court of Appeals opinion that could impact the First Amendment rights of lawyers to make statements about public-interest litigation.
