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

Jeffrey Roberts (Freedom of Information Coalition)-

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.

The demise of SB 16-037, however, won’t end efforts to address long-standing problems with access to digital records under the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA). One of the bill’s opponents, the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office, has agreed to convene a stakeholders’ group to work on a possible compromise.