Draft legislation that would have made it more difficult to get public records won’t be filed after all, the author said Monday following an article detailing the proposal.
Records requesters would have had to prove Colorado citizenship, among other requirements, and the legislation would have made Colorado tougher on document-seekers than neighboring states.
The bill was aimed at curbing abusive records requests that would-be sponsor Rep. Alice Madden says waste staff time and taxpayer dollars.
But there was no way to check those requests without harming the ability of the public to access government documents, which is more important, she said Monday.
Good-government advocates criticized the plan, reported by The Denver Post, as erecting unnecessary barriers to public access.
Madden said she abandoned the idea a while ago after feedback from First Amendment lawyers and media outlets was unfavorable.
A staffer on Thursday told The Post that Madden intended to file the bill.
Jessica Fender: 303-954-1244 or jfender@denverpost.com
