To commemorate CORA’s golden anniversary, the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition asked a few Coloradans for their thoughts on what what the open records law means to them and what it has meant for the people of our state.
State lawmakers took another step toward phasing out the required publication of county public notices in Colorado newspapers.
For the third consecutive year, a committee of lawmakers discussed whether the administrative records of the state’s judicial branch should be subject to the Colorado Open Records Act. This time, the House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee didn’t kill Rep. Polly Lawrence’s proposal as it did in 2016 and 2017. At least not yet.
Colorado’s newspaper industry is fighting proposed state legislation that would phase out the required publication of county public notices.
Legislation that limits public access to the records of the Denver Health and Hospital Authority won the support of a committee of state lawmakers.
By mandating that searchable digital records must be provided in a searchable format and sortable digital records must be produced in a sortable digital form, Colorado joins some 15 other states whose open records laws so require. This huge advance in government transparency certainly deserves celebration.
A bill addressing the expungement of juvenile delinquency records no longer includes a provision changing the public availability of arrest records when juveniles are charged as adults.
Under House Bill 17-1204, a judge would have to order a juvenile be charged as an adult to trigger the public release of arrest and criminal records.
A Colorado House bill is intended to encourage records requesters and government entities to resolve disputes through mediation rather than in the court system.
First Amendment concerns didn’t prevent a panel of state lawmakers from endorsing a prohibition against medical marijuana advertising that is likely to reach youths under 18.
