It’s almost 2025. Why are we still writing checks to pay for public records?
A quarter of the way into the 21st century, should Coloradans still have to write paper checks to pay for public records?
public records
Wrap-up: Tally of open-government losses in 2024 Colorado legislative session could’ve been higher
It could have been worse. While open-government losses far outnumbered wins in the 2024 session of the Colorado General Assembly, the death of a burdensome Colorado Open Records Act bill in the closing days helped make the final tally a little less one-sided.
Colorado House bill lets governments label records requesters as ‘vexatious,’ take longer to comply with requests, withhold records that ‘invade’ privacy
Records custodians would have the power to deem someone a “vexatious requester” and bar that person from obtaining public records for 30 working days under a bill introduced in the Colorado House that also lets government entities take longer to fill most requests made under the Colorado Open Records Act.
CFOIC’s 2023 year in review: Denver school board, Red Rocks, disappearing messages, CORA changes, livestreamed courts and a theater surveillance video
Several key rulings in 2023 showed why courts matter so much for enforcing and interpreting Colorado’s open government laws.
12 ways to improve Colorado’s open government laws
Lawmakers did not, however, tackle the No. 1 barrier to obtaining public records in Colorado — exorbitant fees. And that problem will only get worse on July 1, 2024, when inflation boosts the maximum-allowable hourly rate to process CORA requests from $33.58 to a whopping $40 or $41.
Colorado court holds that public officials’ text messages on cellphones are public records
On October 30, 2023, a Colorado state court judge determined that two Denver city officials had improperly withheld public records from a TV reporter when they refused to disclose text messages stored on their personal cellphones in which they discussed the city’s public business.
Denver improperly withheld text messages about Red Rocks hailstorm, judge rules
A judge ordered Denver to disclose city officials’ text messages about last June’s severe hailstorm at Red Rocks Amphitheater, ruling the communications were improperly withheld from 9NEWS reporter Steve Staeger.
9NEWS lawsuit alleges city of Denver improperly withheld text messages about Red Rocks hailstorm
A lawsuit filed by 9NEWS and reporter Steve Staeger accuses Denver city officials of improperly denying Colorado Open Records Act requests for text messages about a severe hailstorm that pummeled Red Rocks Amphitheater concertgoers on June 21.
CFOIC report: Colorado should bar public officials’ use of disappearing messaging apps for official business
Colorado should enact legislation like a 2021 Michigan statute that outlaws the use of disappearing messaging apps in state government, but the language should be broadened to affect all state and local officials, a law student’s report prepared for the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition recommends.
News organizations, Colorado Human Services argue in appeals court over withholding of child-abuse hotline statistics
Lawyers clashed in the Colorado Court of Appeals over whether the state’s Children’s Code prohibits the Colorado Department of Human Services (DHS) from publicly releasing aggregate statistics about child-abuse hotline calls made from licensed residential care facilities.