Colorado’s open records law applies to public documents that are intimately related to public funds, court says
By Robert Davis, July 15, 2022, The Center Square
Colorado’s open records law applies to documents used for public purposes even if they are held by a third-party entity, a court decided on Thursday. The ruling from the Colorado Court of Appeals reversed a 2020 decision from the El Paso County District Court which held that Tim Leonard, a former state representative, was not entitled to any records he requested regarding the Interquest North Business Improvement District in Colorado Springs.
“When, as here, the requested documents are so intimately related to public funds, [Colorado Open Records Act]’s purpose is at its zenith,” Judge Michael Berger wrote in the opinion.
“Thursday’s ruling wasn’t the first from the Colorado Court of Appeals favoring public access to records that aren’t directly in the possession of a public entity,” CFOIC noted in a blog post. “The appellate court held in 1994 that records maintained by a Coors Field contractor hired by the Denver Metropolitan Major League Baseball Stadium District were public records subject to CORA.”
