It’s A Wrap, And A Spreadsheet

Long-Overdue Overhaul For Open Records In Colorado

By Jeffrey A. Roberts, Special to the GPHN

For Coloradans concerned about access to government information, the 2017 legislative session will be judged by what occurred on May 10 – the 120th and final day.

That’s when members of the state House of Representatives passed a significant open-records bill that had been completely rewritten over the previous 48 hours to appease both records requesters and state-and-local government entities.

Then it was up to the state Senate to accept the stripped-down House version. In the end, Senate Bill 17-040 – a long-overdue update of the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) – was sent to the desk of Gov. John Hickenlooper.

The new CORA provisions, assuming the governor OKs them, will clarify the public’s right to obtain digital public records in useful file formats that can be searched or sorted.

When you request public records kept in a “sortable” format, you’ll be entitled to the records in a format that can easily be imported into a spreadsheet. CORA won’t allow a records custodian to give you a PDF or pages printed from that spreadsheet. For “searchable” records such as emails, you should expect to get the records in a searchable format instead of an image-only PDF.

The final version, sponsored by Sen. John Kefalas, D-Fort Collins, isn’t an ideal solution. It isn’t specific about how much governments can charge to process different types of requests for digital records. But the bill will establish a consistent, statewide policy regarding the format of such records.

Here’s how the legislature handled some other freedom-of-information and transparency matters in 2017:

CORA disputes

Hickenlooper signed House Bill 17-1177, described by its sponsor Rep. Cole Wist (R-Centennial) as requiring a “cooling-off period” when open-records disputes reach the point where litigation is being considered.

Under the new law, someone who is denied records under CORA is required to wait 14 days to challenge the denial in court. During that time, the records custodian must speak with the requester in person or by phone “to determine if the dispute may be resolved” without litigation. However, a requester with “an expedited need” for records – like a journalist on a deadline – can opt out, keeping CORA’s three-day notice of intent to sue in effect.

Wage-theft records

The governor also signed House Bill 17-1021, opening state Division of Labor records on wage-law violations. This can include paying below minimum wage, failing to pay overtime or not reimbursing employees for expenses. “I wrote and sponsored this legislation because I believe cheating someone out of an honest day’s pay is wrong, and the public deserves to know when an employer is caught committing wage theft,” said Rep. Jessie Danielson, D-Wheat Ridge.

Juvenile crime records

House Bill 17-1204, as introduced and passed by the House, included a provision that would have changed the public availability of arrest records when juveniles are charged as adults. The language required that a judge order a juvenile be charged as an adult to trigger the release of records. Now, records are made public when prosecutors decide to “direct file” youths in adult court.

The Colorado Press Association and the Colorado Broadcasters Association persuaded the Senate to keep the direct-file disclosure rule intact. However, the bill passed the legislature with another provision that limits the public availability of identifying information in juvenile cases involving serious crimes that would constitute felonies if committed by an adult or crimes of violence involving firearms. Public information in those cases “shall not include the juvenile’s name, birth date, or photograph,” the measure states.

Unaffiliated voters

When Propositions 107 and 108 were approved last fall, there wasn’t much talk about whether an unaffiliated voter’s choice of party ballot would be a public record under Colorado’s new primary election system. Senate Bill 17-305 set some rules for presidential primaries and the way unaffiliated voters will participate in Democratic and Republican primaries. The bill clarifies that county clerks must record which political party’s ballot an unaffiliated elector casts. The information, added to the statewide voter registration system, will be subject to public inspection.

Political “dark money”

Two bills to limit “dark money” in Colorado political campaigns died in a Republican-controlled Senate committee after passing the Democratic-controlled House with no Republican support. House Bill 17-1261 would have required that anyone spending $1,000 or more annually on electioneering communications include “paid for” disclosures in those ads. House Bill 17-1262 would have made spending information on electioneering communications available throughout a campaign season.

Presidential tax returns

Party lines also divided state lawmakers on an unsuccessful Democratic-sponsored measure, House Bill 17-1328, that would have required presidential and vice presidential candidates to disclose at least five years of personal tax returns to qualify for the general election ballot in Colorado. Modeled after similar bills in other states, it came in response to President Donald Trump’s refusal to let the public see his returns, breaking a 40-year tradition among major-party presidential candidates.

Campus free speech

Members of both parties came together in support of Senate Bill 17-062, which bans “free speech zones” on public university campuses. The new law allows speaking, picketing and carrying signs anywhere on campus, although universities still can set “reasonable” restrictions so that demonstrations don’t interfere with classes. “I don’t think people should be quarantined for free speech,” said Sen. Tim Neville, R-Littleton, one of the bill’s sponsors.

Ballot selfies

Hickenlooper signed House Bill 17-1014, which lets you take a selfie with your voting ballot. The legislation eliminated a long-standing misdemeanor for disclosing the contents of a completed ballot. The ban was meant to prevent vote buying and voter intimidation.

Fraud hotline

House Bill 17-1223 authorizes the state auditor to investigate tips about embezzlement, extortion, bribery and other state government fraud. Auditor Dianne Ray already runs a fraud hotline, but her office has lacked statutory power to examine books, accounts, vouchers and other records of state agencies without conducting a full audit. Under the bill, law enforcement authorities, a local district attorney or the state attorney general must be notified if an investigation uncovers evidence of illegal transactions or the misuse or embezzlement of public funds or property.

Park Hill resident Jeffrey A. Roberts is executive director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, a nonprofit advocacy group dedicated to protecting the public’s right to know. Its website is coloradofoic.org.