Newsletter of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to helping Coloradans understand and use their rights of access to the records and proceedings of government and the judiciary.
CFOIC: Secret-ballot system at statehouse violates the spirit and letter of Colorado's Sunshine Law
The public is entitled to know which of their elected legislators favored or opposed certain measures under consideration at the Capitol, in votes that have had real-world, bill-killing consequences.
Fifty years ago, voter approval of the Sunshine Law ushered in a new era of government transparency in Colorado. It also meant no more beer for the state Capitol press corps.
Approved by Colorado voters in November 1972, the Sunshine Law ushered in a new era of government transparency in our state, establishing stricter rules for open meetings at the Capitol and providing the basis for the more wide-ranging transparency law that now dictates how all public bodies statewide conduct business.
Zansberg: With improvements over time, the Colorado Open Meetings Law has helped hold government accountable to We The People
Over the past two decades, the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition and its member organizations and board members have achieved numerous successes both in amending the Colorado Open Meetings Law and in applying it in lawsuits to ensure compliance by governmental bodies.
Judge: Only 'enumerated' records of the Denver Health and Hospital Authority are subject to CORA
Rejecting the argument of a trauma surgeon’s lawyers, a judge ruled that a 2018 state law limits the scope of Denver Health and Hospital Authority records subject to disclosure under the Colorado Open Records Act.
Woodland Park school board granted summary judgment in contempt of court case
Pikes Peak Courier: O’Connell’s suit against the school board was based on an earlier suit she filed in March, accusing the board of violating the Colorado Open Meetings Law at its Jan. 26 meeting by approving a Memorandum of Understanding with Merit Academy Contract School to bring the academy into the district as a charter school under an agenda item labeled “BOARD HOUSEKEEPING.”
Everything you wanted to know about voting, election security and ballot counting in Colorado
Colorado Public Radio:: CPR News spent three months observing the ballot-counting process, including registration, tabulation and disposal. Our goal was to compile a comprehensive, fact-based review of the process to help you better understand what security measures are in place.
Suit alleges Thompson school board violated open meetings law
Loveland Reporter-Herald: A lawsuit alleging that the Thompson School District violated Colorado’s Open Meetings Law has been filed in Larimer County District Court.
Douglas County schools accused of 'woke ideology' in voter guide that gets no fact check
Lone Tree Voice: Douglas County’s superintendent is rebutting language published in the "TABOR book" that is meant to help voters weigh the pros and cons of tax issues on the ballot in the upcoming election.
Aurora City Council used state sexual harassment law to keep city lawmaker allegations undisclosed
Aurora Sentinel: Allegations that Aurora Councilmember Steve Sundberg made sexually suggestive comments around city staff were investigated and confirmed but kept from the public under a Colorado law that gives cities broad discretion to withhold records related to sexual harassment.
Colorado school district not required to disclose superintendent search records, appeals court says
Colorado Politics: A Colorado Springs-based school district is not obligated to disclose additional candidate applications and closed-door session recordings related to its 2019 search for a new superintendent, Colorado's second-highest court has ruled.
Larimer election judges warned of disinformation from caller spoofing clerk's office
Colorado Newsline: Larimer County election officials sent to election judges an alert that highlighted election disinformation spread in a phone call from someone posing as a county employee and using a number that spoofed the county clerk’s office.
Wiggins and McIntyre: Time to read up on open records laws
Ouray County Plaindealer: Our concern is with the process. Public boards that manage taxpayer money — whether it’s a few thousand dollars or millions — have a duty to be transparent with how they conduct business. And they have an obligation to know what the law is and to follow it.
Weissman and Carver: Coloradans will have the chance to reform judicial discipline
The Denver Post: First, instead of remaining confidential and out of public view until near the end of the process, judicial discipline matters would be open (as most other court proceedings are) once formal proceedings commence. This change would move Colorado out of a small minority of states whose judicial discipline proceedings are as closed as ours are now.
Colorado attorney general seeks input on rules for companies that collect personal information
Colorado Newsline: The Colorado attorney general’s office released proposed Colorado Privacy Act rules onto the secretary of state’s website in search of public feedback on the rules’ contents.
A secret ballot system at Colorado's statehouse is quietly killing bills and raising transparency concerns
KUNC: Democrats who control the state legislature are increasingly using a survey they fill out in secret to help determine whether bills live or die. The results are kept from the public, raising questions about transparency and potential violations of the state’s sunshine law.
Election deniers infiltrate ranks of poll watchers and election judges ahead of November midterms, Colorado clerks warn
The Denver Post: County clerks across Colorado say they’re bracing for a surge of highly motivated election deniers working as poll watchers or election judges in the November midterms — part of a nationwide attempt to manufacture evidence of election fraud.
Proposition GG: Information on Colorado income tax changes would be more prominently displayed
The Colorado Sun: The initiative, if passed, would require the state to more prominently display detailed information about how citizen-initiated ballot measures changing the income tax rate would affect Coloradans.
Perry: Aurora has a secret, and The Sentinel is determined to tell it to you — with the help of the courts
Aurora Sentinel: The Sentinel would love to tell you what went on behind closed doors at city hall in January before city lawmakers agreed to pay $16,000 to a fellow lawmaker being rebuked for trash-talking then-police chief Vanessa Wilson on talk radio.
Ouray County Plaindealer: The Ridgway Public Library Board of Trustees violated state law when it hired new library Director Amy Baer last month, as it failed to notify the public beforehand that she was the sole finalist for the job.
Colorado Newsline::This highlights the larger problem when candidates and holders of public office reject the role of journalists in an open democratic society — if it were merely newsrooms that suffered due to the trend, Americans might not have reason to care much, but it’s democracy itself that’s damaged.
Colorado state government homepage remains offline after cyberattack
The Colorado Sun: Colorado’s state government homepage went offline after a “suspected foreign actor” targeted Colorado.gov in a cyberattack, state officials confirmed in a news release.
Small newspapers and their counties at odds over legal notice requirements
9NEWS: A lawsuit over Custer County’s decision to change its newspaper of record, because commissioners allegedly didn’t like the reporting of one paper, has reignited a conversation about why county governments are required to post so much in local papers.
Denver, Aurora community groups want statewide task force on police accountability
9NEWS: Leaders of community groups in Denver and Aurora announced plans to create a statewide task force dedicated to police accountability and transparency.
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