News Clips

Denver, July 1, 2019 - Today, Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced the formation of the Working Group on Lobbying, an advisory body comprised of interested stakeholders to exchange views and make recommendations regarding upgrades to the electronic lobbyist filing system and lobbyist transparency regulations. The Lobbyist Transparency Act, passed by the Colorado Legislature in 2019, requires the Secretary of State to convene a Working Group on Lobbying.

Advocates for government accountability were alarmed to learn Gov. Jared Polis was undecided on whether to veto a bill to expand police transparency in Colorado. But Polis spokeswoman Maria De Cambra set the record straight late Wednesday. “We’re not going to veto the bill,” she said. “It will be signed.” The signing is slated for 10:50 a.m. Friday at the Capitol, and it will be open to media, De Cambra said. The bill — HB-1119, sponsored by Democratic Denver Rep. James Coleman — would require Colorado law enforcement agencies to open the files on completed internal investigations into a wide range of police interactions with citizens, including alleged incidents of excessive force.

A Denver legislator's bill would make closed internal investigation files subject to open-records requests. The effort has an array of supporters, including the ACLU and Colorado Common Cause, the libertarian Independence Institute and media groups such as the Colorado Broadcasters Association, the Colorado Press Association and the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition.

“The whole reason for transparency is to allow people to engage in government and, if needed, to hold it accountable,” said Amanda Gonzalez, executive director of Colorado Common Cause. “When processes are happening in secret, and the courts are helping them remain secret, there is no way for the public to know what’s happening, and that’s problematic.”

In a final vote, Denver City Council opted to allow gift giving and exchanges of expensive items from other city departments to elected officials, a move the city’s own Board of Ethics and outside ethics experts - including Common Cause - criticized.