Tag: open records

Then came the news that a Colorado Court approved a $16,025 records-retrieval fee. It's the kind of price tag that dampens the will to watchdog government and clouds the work of public officials.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper today signed a controversial bill that would restrict public access to government records, including ballots. Advocacy, elections and government watchdog groups across the political spectrum had called on Hickenlooper to veto the bill and have signaled their intent to file suit against the state if it should become law.

Nonprofit Colorado Ethics Watch filed a formal request Thursday seeking information on the moonlighting plans announced by recently sworn in Secretary of State Scott Gessler and State Treasurer Walker Stapleton. The Open Records request comes a week after revelations of the men's plans sparked a steady stream of reports in the media on potential conflicts of interest, particularly surrounding the plan announced by Gessler, a high-profile partisan politics attorney, to work on a contract basis for his former firm. The Ethics Watch request will likely seek emails passed between the officeholders and advisers, including attorney general's office staff.