Key Hearing For Bid To Modernize Colorado's Open Records Act

DENVER (AP) — A state Senate committee is considering a bill designed to modernize Colorado's Open Records Act.

Democratic Sen. John Kefalas' bill would require government agencies to release requested public records in their original or searchable data formats, like Excel spreadsheets.
The idea is that the public can more easily analyze those records instead of having to thumb through unwieldy paper or PDF documents.

The state Senate, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee hears testimony on the bill on Monday.

That committee killed a similar Kefalas bill last year. Republicans said they worried about costs to agencies and how private information could be permanently redacted from requested records.

Colorado's secretary of state's office led a working group of journalists, government representatives, lawmakers and others before the legislative session to address those concerns.