DENVER (AP) — Two Democratic state lawmakers in Colorado are alleging that their colleagues repeatedly violated state open meetings law by gathering to discuss official business outside of the public’s view and directing aides to “omit or disguise“ some meetings from representatives’ calendars, according to a lawsuit filed against their own caucus. The lawsuit, filed late Friday night, also alleges that Democratic and Republican lawmakers used Signal, a communication app where messages can be set to automatically disappear, in violation of state open meetings law and public records law. Democratic Reps. Elisabeth Epps and Bob Marshall filed the lawsuit against the House of Representatives leadership and the Democratic and Republican caucuses. The lawsuit alleges that Colorado lawmakers met sometimes twice a week to discuss public business, such as pending legislation, but failed to follow any of the open meeting prescriptions outlined by state law, thereby shadowing deliberations from Colorado residents. “I don’t blame our leadership at all,“ said Marshall, acknowledging that closed-door meeting practices are long-standing.

Source: The Star July 11, 2023 03:01 UTC