OEDIT's Colorado Open Records Act Policy

The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) is committed to transparency and open government. The following policy specifies how the Colorado Open Records Act (“CORA”) (§§ 24-72-200.1 to 206, C.R.S.) will be applied to help ensure OEDIT complies in all respects with CORA and meets all constitutional and statutory duties to the people of Colorado in an orderly and expeditious manner. This policy is not intended to be duplicative of CORA or supersede state law.

This policy applies to OEDIT only. This policy applies solely to records requests where OEDIT is the custodian of records pursuant to CORA. On occasion OEDIT staff provide administrative support to independent authorities; OEDIT is not the custodian of records held by OEDIT staff as part of this work, and this policy does not apply to requests for such records. Other state agencies may have different CORA policies.

Submitting a CORA Request and Timelines

OEDIT will only accept records requests made in writing via e-mail sent to gov_oeditrequest@state.co.us. Records requests or requesters that cite the federal Freedom of Information Act will be treated as though they were made pursuant to CORA.

When responding to a records request, OEDIT shall make every effort to respond within three working days as required by § 24-72-203(3)(b), C.R.S. OEDIT may notify a requester that it will take up to an additional seven-working-day extension if it finds extenuating circumstances exist, as described in § 24-72-203(3)(b), C.R.S. The three-working-day response time begins the first working day following receipt of the request. A request received after 12 p.m. or any day OEDIT is officially closed will be considered received as of the following working day.

OEDIT will pause the statutory timeline for responding to a CORA request when waiting for the requester to provide clarification, approve a cost estimate for requests that include compliance costs, or provide payment of an approved cost estimate. A request will be considered closed on the 10th business day after receiving no communication from the requester in response to OEDIT's request for clarification or approval and payment of a cost estimate.

When OEDIT receives multiple CORA requests from the same requester, these requests will be processed one at a time.

Office Procedure for Records Requests and Document Review

The Communications Director will respond to and manage all CORA requests; in the case that the Communications Director is out of office, the Chief Marketing Officer or other appointed designee will respond to and manage CORA requests.

All records requests made of OEDIT shall be immediately provided to the Communications Director. All OEDIT staff possessing records responsive to specific requests for information must inform the Communications Director as soon as possible and promptly provide the Director with assistance in retrieving and researching responsive records when requested.

No employee of OEDIT may modify, redact or omit any records they are required to provide in response to a CORA request pursuant to this policy, unless instructed to do so by the Communications Director and OEDIT's legal counsel.

OEDIT staff should never assume a record is non-public or exempt from CORA. The Communications Director or his/her/their appointed designee will consult with OEDIT executive staff and OEDIT's legal counsel before making a final determination. The Communications Director, or his or her designee handling the request, will coordinate these legal consultations on behalf of OEDIT staff. Decisions about the applicability of CORA to particular records will be made by the Communications Director and OEDIT executive staff in consultation with legal counsel.

In its normal course of business, OEDIT maintains records provided to it by private businesses, nonprofits, and other third-party stakeholders. Section 24-72-204 (3)(a)(IV), C.R.S. requires that OEDIT's custodian deny the right of inspection of documents that contain trade secrets, privileged information, and confidential commercial and financial information. 

When records deemed responsive to a CORA request were submitted to OEDIT by an external third-party, including but not limited to a grant applicant, tax credit applicant, business, or other third party, it is OEDIT's policy to notify the third-party about the CORA request and what responsive public records will be provided. The Communications Director will facilitate this communication in partnership with OEDIT staff. 

Provision of Responsive Public Record

OEDIT will transmit public records that are maintained in a digital format electronically, pursuant to C.R.S. 24.72.203(3.5)(a)(III), unless otherwise requested by the requester. When responsive public records cannot be easily or cost-effectively provided electronically to a requester, OEDIT will work with the requester to schedule a time to inspect the records in person. OEDIT is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. OEDIT may grant exceptions where OEDIT, requesters, or the public records that will be produced require special accommodations.

Fees for Document Retrieval, Research, Copies and Release of Records

When a substantial request is made requiring the use of more than one hour of staff time to retrieve and research responsive records, OEDIT will charge the requester for all copying expenses and reasonable, actual costs associated with cumulative staff time in accordance with § 24-72-205(5)(a), C.R.S. and applicable law.

When reviewing and researching responsive public records consumes more than one hour of staff time, work by multiple staff members will be aggregated and OEDIT will charge $41.37 per hour for all staff time after the first free hour, including work performed by third-party contractors and/or OEDIT's legal counsel. OEDIT will charge $0.25 per page for all documents produced in a paper format in response to a CORA request. Any costs charged to a requester shall not exceed the actual cost of producing the records, in accordance with § 24-72-205(5)(a), C.R.S., and applicable law.

For requests where more than one hour of staff time will be consumed, OEDIT will provide a requester with an estimate of compliance costs before performing any further work on the request. For requests that entail compliance costs, OEDIT will begin performing further work only after receiving the requester's written approval of the cost estimate. The statutory timeline will be paused when waiting for approval of a cost estimate. Once records have been retrieved and researched, all actual costs (which may be higher or lower than the cost estimate) must be paid in full before the production of any responsive public records unless alternative arrangements have been made. When fees remain unpaid for two or more previous CORA requests from the same requester, OEDIT will require payment up front before processing a new request. The statutory response timeline will be paused when waiting for receipt of payment.

The Format of Records Produced

The Colorado Open Records Act guarantees that all public records must be open for inspection by any person at reasonable times, except as provided in CORA or as otherwise specifically provided by law (§ 24-72-201, C.R.S.). CORA does not guarantee access to public records in a specific format. When the production or review of records in a specific format would interfere with the regular discharge of duties of OEDIT employees (§ 24-72-203(1)(a), C.R.S.) or levy an undue burden upon OEDIT, its Communications Director will determine the appropriate format for the records to be produced. 

OEDIT may require that members of the public or press only be allowed to review copies of documents when the custodian of records determines that allowing access to originals could interfere with the regular discharge of duties of OEDIT or its staff or production of original records could jeopardize the condition of the records.

Last Updated: February 6, 2026

Please note: public records requests related to the Colorado Venture Capital Authority (VCA) must be submitted through the VCA Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) Policy.