Colorado transparency legislation

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This page covers legislation related to transparency in government proposed in Colorado.

2009

• House Bill 1145 would have required private investigators to register with the state's attorney general and created a rebuttable presumption that registered private investigators could access public records including driver's license and vehicle records information. Public agency employees were authorized to deny access to the records "if contrary to the public interest." The bill did not advance beyond the Senate Committee on State, Veterans & Military Affairs.

• House Bill 1251 would have created a presumption that criminal records involving investigations were public records. It would have also allowed for record custodians to deny access to the records if they determined disclosure to be "contrary to the public interest." The bill did not advance beyond the House Committee on Judiciary.

• Senate Bill 49 sought to make the compensation information of state employees subject to public records requirements under the Colorado Open Records Act so long as the identifying information of employees is kept confidential. The bill did not advance beyond the Senate Committee on State, Veterans & Military Affairs.

• Senate Bill 57, also known as the Public School Financial Transparency Act, sought to require Colorado school districts to post their budgets online in searchable formats. Bruce Coughy, deputy director of the Colorado Association of School Executives opposed the bill, saying that it was an unfunded mandate placed on school districts. The primary sponsor of the bill, Sen. Ted Harvey (R), said: "The only opposition is that this would be a burden to the administration, and if the citizens want this information they can get it through an open records request. That type of arrogance from government bureaucrats is exactly why the citizens have lost trust in our government and why this bill is important."

• • On February 19, SB 57 passed the state senate Senate on its third reading by a vote of 26-8. On March 19, after a hearing that lasted more than four hours, the bill was voted down by the Democrat-controlled House Education Committee on an 8-5 party-line vote. Before voting against SB 57, the committee narrowly agreed to adopt an amendment proposed by House sponsor Rep. Amy Stephens (R) to make the bill's provisions less burdensome for school districts.