A Polis veto that's good news if you have a cottage industry of lawsuits against small school boards, another try at corner-crossing laws for "locked" public lands?
Good news if you wanted to make money suing faraway school districts over open meetings violations: Polis’ veto will aid you in that.
You know what I bet? I bet the lawyer in Pagosa Springs who makes a cottage industry of lawsuits against small boards who violate open meetings laws (often due to lack of knowledge, not acting in bad faith--see the first link below for when he sued my local district from halfway across the state) is happy that Polis vetoed the bill about executive sessions.
See the second link below for details.
Thanks @GovernorJaredPolis!
Making sure my tax money, coming from a tiny rural district in Colorado, gets to the pockets of the lawyer in Pagosa Springs helps me feel warm and snuggly at night.
And it does little if anything to advance transparency and accountability in our state.
https://www.journal-advocate.com/2023/03/15/re-1-valley-school-district-settles-open-meetings-lawsuit/
https://coloradofoic.org/polis-vetoes-executive-sessions-bill-citing-possible-impediment-to-legitimate-open-meetings-law-challenges/?fbclid=IwAR3KUhKJ0rDhvTu5zVjEcnF6cDlaolrnMEpxeYIDH8R3WdjIiVs4gwhm_FE
Corner crossing on corner-locked public lands, an update.
I posted a bit back on the issue of corner-locked public lands and a bill that would have allowed people to cross corner to corner among parcels of public land without risk of trespass on the adjacent private parcels (the bill got downgraded to a study about the problem).
Part of the discussion has been a trial against a group of hunters in WY who got trespassing charges going to corner to corner among public parcels.
A ruling came down recently. A federal judge ruled that crossing corner to corner is not trespassing.
This ruling has reignited the conversation here in Colorado. The sponsor of the bill from last session is now revisiting the legislation.
Details and an update below.
https://coloradosun.com/2023/06/05/colorado-corner-crossing-legislation-wyoming-ruling/