A view of the Colorado Capitol on Jan. 18, 2024. (Quentin Young/Colorado Newsline)
Government transparency rules are only as good as government officials’ commitment to follow them.
Most people who have tried to acquire public records from the federal government under the Freedom of Information Act can attest to what ProPublica once called the “ aneurysm-inducing ” mockery that many officials make of deadlines and disclosure requirements.
Colorado has several transparency laws, like its own FOIA, known as CORA — the Colorado Open Records Act — and journalists in the state have countless stories about officials who flout its mandates.
Another major source of open government in Colorado is the Transparency Online Project . Also known as the “online checkbook,” the system is a searchable database of the state’s revenues and expenses. Its purpose is to give Coloradans a free and easy-to-access view of how public money is spent and where it’s coming from. It’s their money, after all, and they have a right to see the ledger.