A new report published by a government transparency coalition in Colorado describes the state’s open records law as “unbalanced,” saying it negatively impacts those who work for the public good by allowing custodians to impose exorbitant fees to produce public records. University of Denver law student Justin Twardowski, who compiled the report for the Colorado Freedom of…
Tag: colorado open records
Effort to seal autopsy reports of minors in Colorado draws outcry from open-records advocates
Proposed legislation that would bar the public in Colorado — on privacy grounds — from viewing autopsy reports on the deaths of minors is prompting resistance from open-records advocates who say it will make it harder to uncover mistakes in the child-protection system. The opponents, including media representatives, point to past reporting projects that relied…
Boulder County seeks attorney’s fees, related costs in open records lawsuit
Boulder County has asked the Boulder District Court to order Gunbarrel resident Kristin Bjornsen to pay more than $3,900 in attorney’s fees and related costs — an amount the attorney’s office contends represents only a small portion of the expenses it incurred in defending the county in Bjornsen’s open-meetings and open-records lawsuit. Bjornsen said in…
Colorado lawmaker plans bill to make government more transparent
A Colorado state senator plans to introduce legislation next session that will require governments to provide electronic databases in the format they're kept after open records advocates questioned why some government agencies are less transparent.
Denver and other governments often provide databases and spreadsheets in locked PDF formats even when the records are maintained in Microsoft Excel or other formats, which make them easier to sort and analyze.
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Editorial: CSU does disservice to public with lack of transparency
The recent recall of three members of the Jefferson County School Board by an overwhelming majority of voters demonstrates that Coloradans do not abide by governmental officials’ shirking the public’s right to know how public business is conducted and how taxpayer funds are expended.
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NFOIC executive director discussed Colorado’s open government laws on ‘Contrary to the Public Interest’
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
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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Durango officials say new technology for photographing public records is costing them money
From The Republic: DURANGO, Colorado — Durango officials are asking the City Council to ban people from photographing public records to save money, forcing city workers to search out documents without covering their expenses.
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CHC & WELC win FOIA lawsuit, federal agency broke law by withholding identities of nominating parties
From Citizens for a Healthy Community:
DENVER – A federal court ruled yesterday (February 13, 2013) that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) policy and practice of keeping secret from the public the identity of entities nominating public lands for oil and gas development is unlawful.
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Citizens for a Healthy Community Files FOIA Lawsuit
From Merchant Herald:
Today, Citizens for a Healthy Community and the Western Environmental Law Center (WELC) filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado to force the government to reveal the names of the individuals or corporations that nominated 30,000 acres of public lands in Colorado’s North Fork Valley for oil and gas drilling.
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