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Colorado legislature passes bill letting governments take more time to process records requests
By Jeffrey A. Roberts CFOIC Executive Director
A bill that extends Colorado Open Records Act response times for public and commercial requesters is headed to Gov. Jared Polis.
The legislator who introduced Senate Bill 25-077, Sen. Cathy Kipp, D-Fort Collins, says the measure is necessary because records custodians are “essentially drowning in CORA requests.”
The bill passed the House 45-19 Monday. If signed into law, it will give state and local government entities five working days, rather than three, to provide records and an additional 10 working days, rather than seven, if “extenuating circumstances” exist. If a request is determined to be “for the direct solicitation of business for pecuniary gain,” governments can charge “the reasonable cost” associated with fulfilling the request — rather than the maximum hourly rate in CORA — and take up to 30 working days to do so. |