Colorado transparency legislation
Contents |
Transparency legislation in Colorado.
- See sample transparency legislation at the Sunshine Standard
2011
We do not currently have any legislation from Colorado in 2011. To add some, please see WikiProject Proposed state sunshine legislation.
In January 2011 Colorado lawmakers introduced in January 2011 will expand Colorado's Transparency Online Project that was created in 2009.
2010
Here is a list of transparency legislation for Colorado in 2010:
 | House Bill 1036 | Current Status: (Effective 7/1/2010) | 
|
House Bill 1036, also known as the Public School Financial Transparency Act is a bill introduced to the Colorado House of Representatives by Rep. Christine Scanlan and Rep. Chris Romer which would require public schools to post certain financial information online, in an easy to access and download medium. The bill would require the vast majority of financial information to be posted online and would require updating within sixty days of receiving information that should go on the website. [1]
| House Bill 1078 | Current Status: (Postponed 2/16/2010, State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee, Colorado House of Representatives) | 
|
House Bill 1078 is a bill introduced to the Colorado House of Representatives by Rep. B.J. Nikkel and Rep. Mike Kopp which would modify the content of the web based transparency system proposed by the Colorado Governor in 2009 to exactly reflect the spending and budgetary database's already available to government officials. Currently, the content is decided upon by the chief information officer appointed to manage the system.[2]
| House Bill 1098 | Current Status:(Effective date 8/11/2010) |
|
House Bill 1098 is a bill introduced to the Colorado House of Representatives by Rep. Claire Levy and Sen. Mary Hodge which would expand the open meetings requirements for cooperative electric associations. The bill would require time during open meetings for public comment as well as the recording and posting of meeting minutes on the association's board's website. The act would also require meeting agendas to be posted on the organizations website 10-days prior to regular meetings.[3]
| House Bill 1124 | Current Status: (2/26/2010 by vote) | 
|
House Bill 1124 is a bill introduced to the Colorado House of Representatives by Rep. Wesley McKinley which would affirmatively bring any private entities contracted to enforce pet-animal regulations under the Colorado Open Records Act. The bill also outlines items required to be released including information about inpounded animals, the costs of maintaining the shelter and the funding sources for the organization.[4]
 | House Bill 1141 | Current Status:(Effective 8/11/2010) |
|
House Bill 1141 is a bill intorduced to the Colorado House of Representatives by Rep. Terrance Carroll and Rep. Lois Tochtrop which would create the Board of Mortgage Loan Originators and would exempts the records of all complaints and allegations made to the board that are dismissed and well founded complaints and allegations made to the board until formal action is taken. All other records and meetings of the board are subject to the state transparency laws.[5]
| House Bill 1260 | Current Status:(Effective 6/10/2010) |
|
House Bill 1260 is a bill introduced to the Colorado House of Representatives by Rep. James Riesberg and Rep. Betty Boyd which would create a medical licensing panel to conduct hearings on unlicensed medical practices. The hearings and the documents collected would fall under the Colorado Open Records Act and the Colorado Sunshine Law and would be subject to public scrutiny. The act also protects any medical records submitted for these hearings and for any other hearing or license application.[6]
| House Bill 1284 | Current Status:(Effective 6/7/2010) |
|
House Bill 1284, also known as the Colorado Medical Marijuana Code was introduced to the Arizona House of Representatives by Rep. Thomas Massey and Sen. Chris Romer in 2010. The law contains in it a provision which exempts the applications for and location of any "optional premises cultivation operation" which are additional marijuana fields granted to license holders. The law does stipulate that the information can be released to law enforcement officers. The bill also insures that information concerning the financial or sale records of medical marijuana distributors are exempt under current exemptions for trade secrets. The act also requires appeals of license denial and complaints concerning licensees to be heard at public hearings. In addition, hearings for applications of medical marijuana licenses require a public hearing with at least ten days notice being given prior to the hearing. Notice must take the form of both a sign on the site of the facility applying for a license and an add in the local newspaper. [7]
| House Bill 1293 | Current Status:(Signed 6/7/2010) |
|
House Bill 1293 is a bill introduced into the Colorado House of Representatives by Rep. Thomas Massey and Sen. Bruce Whitehead which would create the Land Assessment and Classification Task Force, whose meetings would be open to the public.[8]
| House Bill 1328 | Current Status:(Effective 6/11/2010) |
|
House Bill 1328 is a bill introduced to the Colorado House of Representatives by Rep. Joe Miklosi and Sen. Gail Schwartz which would create the Colorado New Energy Improvement District and would subject it to the Colorado Open Records Act and the Colorado Sunshine Law.[9]
| House Bill 1345 | Current Status:(Effective 5/21/2010) |
|
House Bill 1345 is a bill introduced into the Colorado House of Representatives by Rep. Terrance Carroll and Sen. Pat Steadman which would require all documents and decisions of the Commissioner of Education, including requests submitted by schools, concerning the emergency take over of the powers of charter schools.[10]
 | House Bill 1393 | Current Status:(Effective 5/27/2010) |
|
House Bill 1393 is a bill introduced to the Colorado House of Representatives by Rep. B.J. Nikkel and Sen. Mike Kopp which would create an exemption within the online Colorado Official Book of Record. The website would no longer be required to post financial information of a state agency if the chief financial officer of that agency made a compelling argument that said information would cause more harm to the public interest than would benefit in the information's disclosure. The website is required to post a description of any excluded information, the justification for exclusion and the state agency that requested exclusion. The bill also outlines the rules for challenging an exclusion.[11]
| House Bill 1432 | Current Status:(5/5/2010 Agriculture, Livestock, & Natural Resources Committee, Colorado House of Representatives) |
|
House Bill 1432 is a bill introduced to the Colorado House of Representatives by Rep. Terrance Carroll and Rep. Brandon Shaffer which would exempt all of the material used to assemble the Colorado Blue Book, which is an informative book about upcoming ballot measures in the state. The bill exempts such information as public comments as well as all documents prepared by the staff of the legislative council under the legislative deliberative process exemption. The information can however be released to "active registered electors" or registered voters in Colorado upon the release of the Blue Book itself. [12]
| Senate Bill 114 | Current Status:(5/12/2010 Died in Conference) | 
|
Senate Bill 114 is a bill introduced to the Colorado State Senate by Sen. Morgan Carroll and Rep. Paul Weissmann which originally proposed extend the Colorado Open Records Act to "any entity that receives public moneys or performs a governmental or other public function and that relate to the receipt of the public moneys or the performance of that function."[13] However the bill was later modified to only include stipulations that procurement information be made available to the public and that all government contracts should contain a statement that the contract itself will be made available to the public. The bill also added an exemption for "pricing" information within the open records act. [14]
| Senate Bill 77 | Current Status:(3/10/2010, Business, Labor and Technology Committee, Colorado Senate) |
Senate Bill 77 is a bill introduced into the Colorado State Senate by Sen. Rollie Heath and Rep. Mark Ferrandino which would create the Board of Real Estate Appraisers and would subject the board to the Colorado Open Records Act. The bill however does exempt investigatory material until the completion of the investigation and exempts all investigatory material in cases where the complaints and accusations were dismissed.[15]
| Senate Bill 91 | Current Status:(2/15/2010, Postponed, State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee, Colorado Senate) |
Senate Bill 1091 was abandoned in committee and was instead passed as House Bill 1036.
| Senate Bill 96 | Current Status:(Postponed 2/9/2010, Local Government Committee, Colorado Senate) | 
|
Senate Bill 96 is a bill introduced to the Colorado State Senate by Sen. Scott Renfroe and Sen. Brian DelGrosso which would create certain transparency requirements of utility companies, requiring the specific release of information relating to the types and costs of fuels used, the cost of storage and transportation of fuels and the cost of new infrastructure.[16]
| Senate Resolution 1 | Current Status:(5/11/2010, 22-Yes, 12-No, 1 Excused, required 2/3 vote) |
Senate Concurrent Resolution 1 is a resolution proposed to the Colorado State Senate by Sen. Rollie Heath and Rep. Mark Ferrandino which would create the Constitutional Review Commission, which would be required to hold open meetings.[17]
2009
- See also: Colorado Open Records Act
House Bill 1145 [18] requires private investigators to register with the state's attorney general and created a rebuttable presumption that registered private investigators may access public records including driver's license and vehicle records information.[18] However, public agency employees are authorized to deny access to the records "if contrary to the public interest".[18]
House Bill 1251 [19] creates a presumption that criminal records involving investigations are public records, but it also allows for record custodians to deny access to the records if they determine disclosure is "contrary to the public interest".[18]
Senate Bill 49 [20] seeks to make the compensation information of state employees subject to public records requirements under the Colorado Open Records Act so long as the identifying information of employees is kept confidential.[20]
Senate Bill 57 [21], also known as the "Public School Financial Transparency Act", seeks to require Colorado school districts to post their budgets online in searchable formats. Bruce Coughy, deputy director of the Colorado Association of School Executives opposes the bill, saying that it amounts to an unfunded mandate placed on school districts. Primary sponsor of the bill, Sen. Ted Harvey (R-Highlands Ranch), says: "The only opposition is that this would be a burden to the administration, and if the citizens want this information they can get it through an open records request. That type of arrogance from government bureaucrats is exactly why the citizens have lost trust in our government and why this bill is important." [22]
On February 19, SB 57 passed the state senate Senate on its third reading by a vote of 26-8. But on March 19, after a marathon hearing that lasted more than four hours, the bill was killed by the Democrat-controlled House Education Committee on an 8-5 party-line vote.[23] Before killing SB 57, the committee narrowly agreed to adopt an amendment proposed by House sponsor Republican Rep. Amy Stephens to make the bill's provisions less burdensome for school districts.
Ben DeGrow of the Independence Institute supports SB 57 saying "Shining sunlight on the detailed financial picture for all to see would help strengthen the 'public' in public education." [24] About 30 other citizens visited the Capitol on February 2, 2009 to show their support for the bill. [25]
2007
Colorado House Bill 07-1164 to provide for the creation of a state-wide searchable database to ensure accountability of all state money being spend. Status: Postponed indefinitely.
References
- ↑ Final Text of HB 1036
- ↑ HB 1078 as introduced
- ↑ Final text of HB 1098
- ↑ Text of HB 1124 as introduced
- ↑ Final text of HB 1141
- ↑ Final text of HB 1260
- ↑ Final text of HB 1284
- ↑ Final Text of HB 1293
- ↑ Final text of HB 1328
- ↑ Final text of HB 1345
- ↑ Final text of HB1393
- ↑ Text of HB 1432 as introduced
- ↑ Final text of SB 114
- ↑ Final text of SB 114
- ↑ Text of SB 77 as introduced
- ↑ SB 96 as introduced
- ↑ Final text of SCR 1
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Text & Status of HB 1145
- ↑ Text & Status of HB 1251
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Text & Status of SB 49
- ↑ Text & Status of SB 57
- ↑ Senate committee contemplates online school budgets, Face the State, January 29, 2009
- ↑ Senate Bill 57 dies on party-line committee vote
- ↑ Schools need open books, Denver Daily News, January 27, 2009
- ↑ Activists Want School Spending Details Online, Associated Press, February 3, 2009
| |||||
 |
State of Colorado Denver (capital) |
|---|---|
| Transparency Topics |
Open Records Act | Sunshine Law | Government corruption reports | Transparency Legislation | Open Records procedures | Transparency Advocates | |
| Divisions |
State |
List of Counties |
List of Cities |
List of School Districts | |
| State spending |
State budget | State salaries | Stimulus allocations | Taxpayer-funded lobbying | |
| Government |
Colorado State Constitution | Executive | House of Representatives | Senate | Local officials | Public school system | |
| Judiciary |
Colorado Supreme Court | Court Election (2008) | Court of Appeals | District Courts | Judicial Nominating Commission | County Courts | Judicial activist organizations | |
| Ballot Measures |
2008 Ballot measures | Historical listing of ballot measures | Initiative procedures | Campaign finance requirements | Direct democracy laws | Recall process | |
