Colorado Public Records

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The Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) is a series of laws defining public records and the rights of the people to access them. CORA applies to virtually all levels and types of governments within the state system of Colorado. This includes all state agencies and institutions, cities, counties, towns, school districts, special districts, and housing authorities, among others. The US FEDERAL government records are not subject to this act, regardless of their Colorado location. (Federal records are subject to the FOIA.)

CORA only makes public written information that already exists within the government. It does not force an agency or other government organization involved to create new records to respond to a request. It also does not require the government to manipulate or analyze information it might have in a new way in order to respond to a request.

Public Records as defined by CORA include Books, papers, maps, photographs, tape recordings and electronic mail, among other written materials, and are all open records. In order to be a "public record," the materials must be made by the government, kept by the government, or maintained by the government, and the record must also involve the receipt or expenditure of public funds, or the exercise of functions required or authorized by law or administrative rule.

Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) Information Request Form

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Brief History of Colorado

As with all the US states, Colorado's history is rich with Native American tradition. Peoples included Arapaho, Ute, Cheyenne, Pueblo and other Plains tribes. US claim to this area came from a number of sources, including the Louisiana Purchase, the Adams-Onis Treaty, and finally the Mexican- American War. The land mass included what is now New Mexico, Utah, Kansas and Nebraska. Colorado became the 38th state in 1876, which is how it got it's nickname "The Centennial State."

Early settlement of the area by non-Native peoples included the Mexican and Spanish. Other European peoples generally passed through or around the region on their way to California or Alaska gold, Mormon country or to settle the Pacific Northwest via the Oregon Trail. However, settlements were created along these routes, such as Denver City and Aurelia, and various mining encampments popped up as gold and silver was discovered first in the rivers and then deeper in the mountains.

The early economy of Colorado was based on the extraction and processing of minerals and agricultural products. Today, Colorado's economy includes scientific and high- tech, federal government, tourism, and food processing. Current agricultural products include cattle, wheat, dairy, corn, and hay.

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