CORA Working Group focuses on open records

CORA Working Group focuses on open records
By Jeffrey A. Roberts
CFOIC Executive Director
(excerpted from Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition webpage)
Immediately after a bill to modernize the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) died in a Senate committee last session, the deputy for Secretary of State Wayne Williams offered to bring stakeholders together to work on a 2017 proposal agreeable to both government entities and records requesters.

That effort, dubbed the CORA Working Group, is well underway this summer and has focused on three main topics: 1) ensuring that public records maintained in database formats are available to the public in similar, machine-readable formats; 2) exploring the feasibility of an open-data law to encourage the online posting of government datasets; and 3) developing a process for resolving open-records disputes that doesn’t involve litigation.
To read Roberts’ full story, go to http://coloradofoic.org/cora-working-group-focuses-on-database-records-open-data-alternatives-to-litigation/

On Aug. 20, The Denver Post published an editorial on the subject, which concluded with: “Open records laws are meant to serve the public’s right to know, and thereby create goodwill and trust between citizens and their public institutions. Given Colorado’s poor track record in this area, we hope Coloradans will demand more from their lawmakers next session.”
To read the full editorial, go to “Colorado lawmakers should stand up for open records“