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Denver, CO This past week a judge in the Colorado Second Judicial District released a ruling ordering state government insurance provider Pinnacol Assurance was in fact subject to the Colorado Open Records Act and was required to disclose the information related to a golf outing by the board of directors to Pebble Beach, S.C.. The court determined that Pinnacol qualifies as a public company and is therefor accountable to public scrutiny. Pinnacol President and Chief Executive Ken Ross disagreed with the ruling, telling the press, "Pinnacol believed this request was improper under Colorado law because it involved disclosing records that do not relate to any public function, and do not involve the expenditure of public funds. The request, in our view, improperly sought records that could harm Pinnacol's competitive position and involve an improper intrusion into the privacy of individuals who attended the event."[1]
Jones paid $940 to the state for 2.5 years of personal calls he made on his state cellphone. The media looked into and asked about his expenses and exposed the extraneous spending.
The payback was almost half of the total $2,227 billed to Jones' cellphone since he started the job. Later, reports about expensive meals and new office furniture were billed to Jones' expense account at a time of severe state budget cuts.
The Department of Education requires its employees to reimburse the state monthly for anything more than the occasional, short personal call.
"He knew about the policy, and he just hadn't done it," said department spokesman Mark Stevens. "It was an oversight."
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