Colorado bill would make legislative records even more secret
A proposal in Colorado would make e-mails and other records regarding draft legislation secret. The Legislature believes that if citizens find out about proposals before they are crafted then it would chill the deliberative process - that elected leaders don't want people to know what they really think by debating proposals openly. Yet, draft bills are public in Florida and Missouri. And city councils throughout the country often are required to provide proposed ordinances before they discuss them. That's called government transparency and accountability. Elected officials need to have the guts to discuss proposals openly instead of making backroom deals away from the public, then springing the final proposal on citizens without time to react or an understanding of what (or who) is behind the proposal (e.g., Cheney energy task force meetings). See editorial in
The Denver Post.