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Democratic lawmakers prepare rare override of Polis veto on open records bill
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Approved, Colorado Politics, State

Democratic lawmakers prepare rare override of Polis veto on open records bill

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Democratic lawmakers, who are preparing for a fight with the executive branch over a myriad of issues, will seek an override of Gov. Jared Polis' veto on Friday of a bill that sought to increase deadlines to fulfill public records requests in Colorado. Senate Bill 77 sought to change the state's open records law by increasing the costs of open records requests, creating three classes of requesters, and extending the time a governmental entity must comply with those requests. One of the main criticisms of the bill was that it allowed the media to receive public records quicker than the general public. Polis vetoed the bill last week, citing concerns over its creation of three classes of requesters — mass media, those who seek open recor...
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Perry: Your CORA request isn’t less important than RMV’s—isn’t it nice that Polis agrees?
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Approved, State, The Sentinel

Perry: Your CORA request isn’t less important than RMV’s—isn’t it nice that Polis agrees?

By Dave Perry, Editor | Commentary, Sentinel Colorado Journalism, like beauty and pornography, is established by the eye of the beholder. Given that everyone judges the quality and depth of each of those things on a wide and sometimes wacky spectrum, whom in the government would you trust to endorse as the most fabulous or vulgar thing ever? More important, which county wonk, city clerk or state bureaucrat do you think should decide whether former gubernatorial hopeful Heidi Ganahl’s far-right “news” website, “The Rocky Mountain Voice,” is as much journalism as is the Sentinel, or the Denver Post, or Donald Trump’s Truth Social blog? In what appears to have been a well-intentioned move by this year’s state legislature to make Colorado’s critical open records law more ...
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Polis Vetoes Open Records Bill—But Conservatives Say It’s Too Little, Too Late
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Polis Vetoes Open Records Bill—But Conservatives Say It’s Too Little, Too Late

By Rocky Mountain Voice Editorial Board Governor Jared Polis vetoed a controversial bill last Thursday that would have made it more difficult—and more expensive—for Coloradans to access public records. But transparency advocates across the political spectrum say his sudden concern about responsive governance contradicts years of actions that have consistently chipped away at public accountability. Senate Bill 25-077, sponsored by Sen. Cathy Kipp (D–Fort Collins), would have: Extended response deadlines for open records requests from three to five days, and up to ten under “extenuating circumstances” Allowed government agencies to bundle multiple requests from the same person to increase feesEliminated the first free hour of research time for follow-up requests Created diffe...
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Sengenberger: An ‘erosion of trust’ in Jeffco schools leadership
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Approved, Colorado Springs Gazette, Commentary, Local

Sengenberger: An ‘erosion of trust’ in Jeffco schools leadership

By Jimmy Sengenberger | Colorado Springs Gazette When Jefferson County Schools fired Chief of Schools David Weiss in December after learning he was being investigated for child pornography, the district spiraled into crisis mode. The situation deteriorated after Weiss died by suicide over New Year’s, with families learning about the allegations through media reports. Recently obtained text messages now reveal a district in disarray — defensive, self-focused, and scrambling behind the scenes while keeping parents in the dark. Dozens of pages of text exchanges, uncovered by the parent group Jeffco Kids First through open records requests, expose frantic damage control after Weiss’s termination — skirting open meetings laws by often grouping two board members with district leaders. T...
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Who gets to know? Lawmakers, media and watchdogs wrangle over public records access
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Who gets to know? Lawmakers, media and watchdogs wrangle over public records access

By RMV Staff | Rocky Mountain Voice Last year Democrat lawmakers created a loophole to dodge public scrutiny—and Governor Polis made it law. Now it’s easier for lawmakers to evade state open meetings law, through written and electronic communication. Republicans Sen. Byron Pelton and Rep. Lori Garcia Sander introduced House Bill 25-1242 to repeal and close that loophole. But the bill was killed in committee along party lines, reinforcing a trend toward less transparency at the state capitol. In response, a coalition of government watchdogs and media groups from across the political spectrum is pushing a ballot measure to strengthen public access to records and keep legislative meetings open. Transparency advocates, including the Independence Institute, League of Women Voters an...
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New law on accessibility leads to removal of public records from websites
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

New law on accessibility leads to removal of public records from websites

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics A 2021 law intended to improve accessibility to government documents for individuals with hearing and vision impairments has had unintended consequences — it prompted some agencies to completely remove public records from websites altogether in order to avoid non-compliance with the legislation. House Bill 21-1110 required all state and local agencies to implement accessibility plans for their IT systems by July 1 of this year or face potential discrimination lawsuits and fines of up to $3,500. Following worries from agencies about their ability to meet the deadline, a 2024 bill extended the cutoff to July 1, 2025. Under the law, to make documents accessible to individuals with vision and hearing impairments, agencies must re...
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