DENVER (AP) - The Latest on a bill to modernize Colorado’s Open Records Act (all times local):
5:15 p.m.
A bill to modernize Colorado’s Open Records Act has survived its first Senate hearing - but with an amendment that could mean trouble down the road.
The GOP-led Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee voted 4-1 Wednesday to send the bill by Democratic Sen. John Kefalas to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The bill would, in most cases, allow citizens to more easily analyze public documents by requiring state agencies to provide them in their original, computer-friendly electronic formats.
But committee chair Sen. Ray Scott introduced an amendment to have the judicial branch covered by the bill. Courts have ruled the judiciary is not subject to the records act. That amendment passed on a 3-2 party-line vote.
Scott said he introduced the amendment because he feels it is time to review what is and is not covered by the records act. Backers of Kefalas’ bill say they only intended to expedite the ease of access to records, not the scope of what is and isn’t covered by the act.
9:15 a.m.
A bill to modernize Colorado’s Open Records Act is being considered by a Senate committee that killed the idea over security concerns last year.
Democratic Sen. John Kefalas’ bill would allow citizens to more easily analyze public documents by requiring state agencies to provide them in their original, computer-friendly electronic formats.
There are exceptions, such as when an agency doesn’t have the technical know-how to do so.
More than 15 states and the federal government have made it easier for the public to obtain computerized data that can include crime statistics, budgets or salaries.
The Senate State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee hears testimony on the bill Wednesday.
It rejected a similar bill last year. Among other concerns, lawmakers wanted to ensure that sensitive information, such as Social Security numbers, could be permanently deleted from digital data.
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