Colorado’s effort to enshrine a fundamental right to know the affairs of state and local government in the state constitution is dead for the 2026 ballot cycle after proponents declined to appeal two Title Board rejections to the Colorado Supreme Court.
The Title Board voted 2-1 on April 25 to again reject Initiative #286 — identical in outcome to its April 15 vote — after a rehearing requested by proponents Jon Caldara of the Independence Institute and Beth Hendrix of the League of Women Voters of Colorado. The proposal would have amended Article II of the state constitution, Colorado’s Bill of Rights, to declare that residents hold a fundamental right to access public records and attend public meetings at all levels of government. Proponents had seven days from the rehearing to petition the Colorado Supreme Court for review. No petition was filed.
Board chair Theresa Conley of the secretary of state’s office said the measure’s reach made a ballot title impossible to write. “The scope of this is hard to put into a question for the voters to understand,” she said. “It’s really hard to figure out exactly how much this is changing the status quo. That is generally what we try and capture.” Kurt Morrison, representing the attorney general’s office, voted with Conley. Christy Chase of the Office of Legislative Legal Services voted in favor of setting a title.
At issue was Colorado’s single-subject rule, a 1994 constitutional requirement that ballot initiatives address only one topic. Conley argued the measure went beyond open records and open meetings into broader categories of information, and that it lacked protections for law enforcement and attorney-client privilege. Morrison said at the April 15 hearing that the challenge was explaining to voters a proposal that “may mean one through 30 things and it may mean none of those things.”
Proponents’ attorney Brett Lilly argued the single subject is the right itself. “The creation of the fundamental right is just that — it’s a single subject,” he told the board. “It’s the right to know. It may be implemented in various ways. That happens to be public meetings, public records.” Lilly cited Kemper v. Leahy, a 2014 Colorado Supreme Court ruling that approved single-subject status for a proposed initiative creating a constitutional right to Colorado’s environment.
The initiative was backed by a coalition that included the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, Colorado Common Cause, the Colorado Broadcasters Association, the Colorado Press Association, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado. At least seven states have constitutional right-to-know provisions. Without a ballot title, signature gathering cannot begin, and the state’s submission deadline is August 3, 2026.
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