Colorado Open Records Act – Page 2 – National Freedom of Information Coalition

Lack of transparency keeps Colorado in the dark about police misbehavior

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Tuesday, Nov. 24 marks the first anniversary of a grand jury's failure to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the August 2014 shooting death of black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

When Wilson was cleared by the grand jury, riots broke out in Ferguson and elsewhere, and the Black Lives Matter movement was born, challenging cities across the country to examine policies pertaining to the use of excessive force by their police departments.

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CSU won’t try to change Colorado open records law

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Colorado State University won’t try to restrict public record access, after all.

While the CSU System General Counsel raised the idea of limiting applicability of the Colorado Open Records Act to Colorado residents only, the governing body for CSU doesn’t have any interest in lobbying to change that law, spokesman Mike Hooker said in an email. Continue…

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CSU eyes restrictions to state open records law

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The Colorado State University System may propose changing the state’s open-record policy to honor only requests made by Colorado residents.

Michael Nosler, attorney for the CSU Board of Governors, said the idea generated from his office and described it as still preliminary during Friday’s board meeting in Fort Collins. Continue…

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Lawyers challenge Colorado Springs Utilities’ denial of open-records requests

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Colorado Springs Utilities, a public entity owned by its ratepayers, has routinely denied document requests filed under the Colorado Open Records Act.

The reports sought through CORA pertain to air quality in light of emissions from the coal-burning Martin Drake Power Plant. The records withheld fall under the act's exception for "trade secrets, privileged information, and confidential commercial, financial, geological or geophysical data," said Rick Griffith, of the City Attorney's Office.

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Open records peek behind city’s closed doors

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From Coloradoan.com: Colorado State University’s on-campus stadium as proposed would inadequately address parking.

Around-the-clock footage from hundreds of government surveillance cameras in Fort Collins can be viewed on demand and is readily available to police without a warrant.

The city manager is aware of about a dozen occurrences of questionable ethics or disturbing behavior by city staff during the past year.

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NFOIC’s State FOIA Friday for November 22, 2013

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From NFOIC: A few state FOIA and local open government news items selected from many of interest that we might or might not have drawn attention to earlier in the week. While you're at it, be sure to check out State FOIA Friday Archives.

Minnesota high court: Business not subject to open-records laws

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Jeffrey Roberts: When public information is not public

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From Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition: With a proposed property tax increase on the November ballot, Conifer resident Melody Mesmer thought that residents of the Elk Creek Fire Protection District ought to know how much district employees have been paid over the last few years in salary and overtime.

But even though such information is public under the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA), the fire district isn’t handing it over.

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NFOIC executive director discussed Colorado’s open government laws on ‘Contrary to the Public Interest’

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From NFOIC: KMGH-TV, the ABC affiliate in the greater Denver area, took a critical look at Colorado's open government laws, and transparency law enforcement in that state, in a special report called “Contrary to the Public Interest.”

ABC-7’s prize-winning investigative reporter John Ferrugia interviewed National Freedom of Information Coalition executive director Ken Bunting for the special report, which first aired Sept 29.

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Reporters Committee, CFOIC ask court to reject James Holmes’ motion to restrict access to pleadings

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From Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition: Restricting access to court records in the Aurora movie theater shooting case would “serve no constructive purpose” and significantly impair the public’s understanding of issues of national importance involving violence and mental health, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press argued Wednesday in a letter co-signed by the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition.

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What is a “reasonable” CORA fee?

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From Jeffrey A. Roberts, executive director, Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition: Unlike the statute governing the release of criminal-justice records, the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) says nothing about the fees that local governments and the state may charge to research and retrieve all other public records. So it is up to the courts to provide guidance.

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