Colorado – Page 5 – National Freedom of Information Coalition

A mother’s quest for police records on the death of her son

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Rochelle Reynolds had lots of questions after her 25-year-old son, John, died following an early-morning encounter with police in the western Colorado town of Olathe in April 2015.

The Montrose County coroner ruled the death a suicide: John Reynolds, a registered sex offender with an active felony warrant for his arrest, fatally wounded himself with a sword-shaped letter opener before being Tased by an officer and then handcuffed.

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Colorado database records bill dies, but stakeholders hope to work on a compromise

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Opposition from a state agency and several local governments Wednesday doomed proposed legislation intended to modernize Colorado’s open records law by requiring that public records kept in database formats be available to the public in similar formats.

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A 21st-century open records law for Colorado

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When was the last time you used microfilm or microfiche to find information? Does the phrase “on-line bulletin board” bring to mind that screeching noise associated with dial-up connections from 20 years ago?

That’s how long it’s been since the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) was amended to ensure access to public records “kept only in miniaturized or digital form.” This section of the law, with its tech terms from the 1990s and earlier, is so antiquated and so nonspecific that it’s practically useless.

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Colorado colleges seek exemption to open meetings law

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A bill that would allow two Colorado colleges’ governing boards to make decisions outside of public meetings is working its way through the Colorado Legislature, but it may see pushback from one of those colleges.

House Bill 1259 would allow the boards of trustees for Aims Community College and Colorado Mountain College to “meet” electronically, opening the door for meetings via web portal, email or any other digital platform through which the public would essentially be unable to attend.

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Opinion: Flint water crisis a lesson for Colorado government email retention

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Imagine you live in Flint, Michigan, and it’s been your home for years.

You’ve just learned the drinking water the town has supplied for the past couple of years has been contaminated with lead. Yes, the water you used to shower and wash your dishes, the water your children drank and used to brush their teeth, tainted.

You want answers. Frankly, you deserve answers. Everyone deserves answers.

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Colorado lawmakers seek to boost whistleblower protections

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State lawmakers introduced three bills in the opening weeks of the 2016 legislative session intended to safeguard Colorado whistleblowers.

The measures would: 1) prohibit municipalities, counties and school districts from disciplining employees who report abuses; 2) shield state employees from disciplinary action for reporting “non-public” information; and 3) protect homeowners from retaliation or discrimination by homeowners’ associations.

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Colorado lawmaker set to push bill for more access to judicial branch records

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A Colorado state lawmaker is set to bring forward a bill that would block the courts from denying open records requests.

Watchdog.org obtained a draft of the bill by state Rep. Polly Lawrence, R-Roxborough Park, which would allow court rules to apply only to open records matters not directly covered by the Colorado Open Records Act.

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How a former Denver Post journalist helps everyone in Colorado get public records

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This summer, Jeffrey Roberts fielded a call at his office in Denver. A resident of Elbert County, southeast of the capital, had noticed something curious: The county assessor maintained a website where the assessed value of local homes, considered a public record under Colorado law, was readily accessible. But the records for properties owned by certain local officials—including the assessor—were hidden from view.

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Colorado school board to get sunshine law training — in secret

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Jeffco’s five new school board members will take about two hours at their next meeting to hear legal advice on “the Colorado Open Meetings Law, the Colorado Open Records Act, conflicts of interest and standards of conduct for local public officials.”

The sunshine-law training will be held behind closed doors in an executive session.

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Editorial: Colorado voted ballots still too hard to access

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Coloradans achieved the important right to review voted ballots as open records through a costly legal battle culminating in a state court of appeals victory in 2011.

And the legislature affirmed this critical citizen right to see voted ballots in a bill it passed the following year. Continue…

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