03-05-2025
Colorado legislature will not vote to overturn Polis's veto of an open records bill
State lawmakers in Colorado have decided not to try to override Gov. Jared Polis's veto of an open records bill.
The bill created different rules for open records requests depending on who's requesting them. The rules for journalists would have remained unchanged, but the public would have had to wait longer and pay more for their records.
The measure -- Senate Bill 25-077 -- didn't define "journalist," leaving it up to local governments to determine that, which is why the governor said he vetoed it.
Republican State Rep. Matt Soper, one of the bill's sponsors, says he understands the concerns about two different sets of rules: "We realized that was clunky, unfair, and really isn't in the spirit of equal justice under the law and so we set aside the veto override and we're clearing the table to bring all the stakeholders back."
Local governments requested the bill. They say they're receiving so many open records requests, it's putting a strain on staff and other resources.
The Colorado Freedom of Information Center asked Polis to veto the measure because it "creates additional unnecessary barriers for people seeking to gain a better understanding of state and local government activities in Colorado, which is the very purpose of (Colorado Open Records Act)."
Polis called the bill and the likely results, had it passed, unfair when he vetoed it.
"Essentially, under this bill, speed to access public information is determined by who you are," he said. "A newsperson, a member of the public, and a person seeking financial gain may all request the same information and, under this bill, get access to that information on different timelines. To ensure fairness and confidence in public transparency, all legitimate requests for public transparency under CORA should be treated equally under the law, without preference for some requestors over others."
While the new law wouldn't have impacted CBS News Colorado, we did sign on to a letter urging the governor to veto the bill. We don't believe journalists deserve special treatment when it comes to public records.
