SENATE BILL 25-038
BY SENATOR(S) Roberts and Catlin, Bridges, Marchman, Pelton B.,
Simpson, Amabile, Baisley, Bright, Carson, Cutter, Daugherty, Exum,
Frizell, Hinrichsen, Jodeh, Kipp, Kirkmeyer, Kolker, Liston, Lundeen,
Michaelson Jenet, Mullica, Pelton R., Rich, Rodriguez, Snyder, Weissman,
Winter F., Coleman;
also REPRESENTATIVE(S) McCluskie and Winter T., Martinez,
McCormick, Bird, Boesenecker, Bradley, Brown, Caldwell, Duran,
Johnson, Joseph, Keltie, Lieder, Lukens, Mauro, Richardson, Soper, Suckla,
Taggart, Titone, Valdez, Weinberg.
C
ONCERNING PROTECTION OF THE PERSONAL INFORMATION OF PERSONS
IMPACTED BY WILDLIFE DAMAGE
.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly
finds that:
(a) Proposition 114, the ballot measure enacted in 2020 that
authorized the process to introduce gray wolves in Colorado, explicitly
required the state to fairly compensate owners for losses of livestock caused
by gray wolves in addition to losses of livestock caused by other wildlife;
________
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material added to existing law; dashes
through words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law and such material is not part of
the act. (b) To fulfill this obligation, the general assembly passed and the
governor signed into law Senate Bill 23-255, enacted in 2023, which, along
with funding sources that exist for damages resulting from other types of
wildlife, created a dedicated compensation fund to compensate owners for
depredation of livestock and working animals by gray wolves;
(c) Now that gray wolves have been released and are present in
Colorado, along with depredation by other wildlife, livestock and working
animals have been killed by wolves, entitling ranchers to compensation for
the losses; and
(d) However, ranchers in the state have been reluctant to participate
in site assessments and file claims for compensation due to the fear of their
personal information being made public through open records requests
brought by individuals and organizations with the intent of:
(I) Traveling to the rancher's home or business to view gray wolves
and other wildlife;
(II) Contacting the rancher directly; or
(III) Using the rancher's personal information to conduct other
invasions of the rancher's privacy.
(2) The general assembly therefore declares that:
(a) It is the intent of the state through the enactment of Proposition
114 and Senate Bill 23-255 to prevent future depredations and fairly
compensate ranchers for their losses; and
(b) By protecting the personal information of people that make
compensation claims, more ranchers will be comfortable submitting
depredation claims to the division of parks and wildlife and participating in
proactive nonlethal measures, and the intent of Proposition 114 and Senate
Bill 23-255 will be better fulfilled.
SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 24-72-204, add
(3)(a)(XXIV) as follows:
PAGE 2-SENATE BILL 25-038 24-72-204. Allowance or denial of inspection - grounds -
procedure - appeal - definitions - repeal. (3) (a) The custodian shall deny
the right of inspection of the following records, unless otherwise provided
by law; except that the custodian shall make any of the following records,
other than letters of reference concerning employment, licensing, or
issuance of permits, available to the person in interest in accordance with
this subsection (3):
(XXIV) R
ECORDS THAT ARE NOT SUBJECT TO DISCLOSURE PURSUANT
TO SECTION
33-3-110.5.
SECTION 3. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add 33-3-110.5 as
follows:
33-3-110.5. Confidentiality of personal information - definition.
(1) (a) A
S USED IN THIS SECTION, "PERSONAL INFORMATION" MEANS:
(I) A
PERSON'S:
(A) N
AME;
(B) P
HONE NUMBER;
(C) H
OME ADDRESS;
(D) B
USINESS ADDRESS;
(E) P
ERSONAL EMAIL ADDRESS; OR
(F) BUSINESS EMAIL ADDRESS; OR
(II) ANY OTHER INFORMATION THAT WOULD REVEAL THE IDENTITY
OF THE PERSON OR THE PERSON
'S BUSINESS.
(b) "P
ERSONAL INFORMATION" DOES NOT INCLUDE INFORMATION
ABOUT NONLETHAL PREDATOR
-LIVESTOCK CONFLICT MINIMIZATION
MEASURES USED BY OR RECOMMENDED TO A PERSON
, OR A SUMMARY OR
AGGREGATED DATA RELATED TO SUCH INFORMATION
, SO LONG AS THE
INFORMATION OR SUMMARY OR AGGREGATED DATA DOES NOT REVEAL THE
IDENTITY OF THE PERSON OR THE PERSON
'S BUSINESS.
PAGE 3-SENATE BILL 25-038 (2) THE PERSONAL INFORMATION OF A PERSON THAT THE DIVISION
RECEIVES THROUGH THE CLAIM PROCEDURES DESCRIBED IN SECTIONS
33-3-107 TO 33-3-110 AND SITE ASSESSMENTS CONDUCTED BY STATE
OFFICIALS AND THIRD PARTIES TO PREVENT FUTURE DEPREDATION AND ANY
PERSONAL OR OTHERWISE IDENTIFYING INFORMATION ASSOCIATED WITH THE
USE OF PROACTIVE NONLETHAL PREDATOR
-LIVESTOCK CONFLICT
MINIMIZATION MEASURES IS CONFIDENTIAL AND IS NOT SUBJECT TO
DISCLOSURE PURSUANT TO THE
"COLORADO OPEN RECORDS ACT", PART 2
OF ARTICLE 72 OF TITLE 24.
(3) N
OTHING IN THIS SECTION PROHIBITS THE DISCLOSURE OF
NONIDENTIFYING INFORMATION REGARDING C OUNTY
-LEVEL DATA
HIGHLIGHTING THE NUMBER OR DOLLAR AMOUNT OF CLAIMS MADE TO THE
DIVISION
, THE NUMBER OF CLAIMS MADE TO THE DIVISION THAT WERE
SETTLED AND THE MONETARY AMOUNTS OF THOSE SETTLEMENTS
, THE
NUMBER OF CLAIMS MADE TO THE DIVISION THAT ARE PENDING AT THE TIME
OF A REQUEST FOR DISCLOSURE
, AND THE NUMBER OF CLAIMS MADE TO THE
DIVISION THAT WERE DENIED AND THE REASONS FOR DENIAL
.
(4) N
OTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF THIS SECTION TO THE
CONTRARY
, IF A PERSON, OR AN AUTHORIZED DESIGNEE OR REPRESENTATIVE
OF THE PERSON
, TAKES ACTIONS OR MAKES STATEMENTS THAT LEAD TO THE
PERSON
'S PERSONAL INFORMATION BECOMING PUBLICLY KNOWN , THE
PERSONAL INFORMATION IS NOT CONFIDENTIAL AND IS SUBJECT TO
DISCLOSURE PURSUANT TO THE
"COLORADO OPEN RECORDS ACT", PART 2
OF ARTICLE 72 OF TITLE 24.
(5) A
PERSON SHALL NOT BRING OR MAINTAIN A PRIVATE ACTION , AT
LAW OR IN EQUITY
, CHALLENGING THE DIVISION'S DETERMINATION THAT A
PERSON
, OR AN AUTHORIZED DESIGNEE OR REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PERSON ,
HAS TAKEN ACTIONS OR MADE STATEMENTS THAT LED TO THE PERSON 'S
PERSONAL INFORMATION BECOMING PUBLICLY KNOWN
.
(6) A
NY PERSON, OR AUTHORIZED DESIGNEE OR REPRESENTATIVE OF
THE PERSON
, THAT REQUESTS RECORDS PERTAINING TO THE PERSON 'S OWN
CLAIM PURSUANT TO THE
"COLORADO OPEN RECORDS ACT", PART 2 OF
ARTICLE
72 OF TITLE 24, IS ENTITLED TO RECEIVE THE RECORDS WITHOUT
REGARD TO SUBSECTION
(2) OF THIS SECTION.
SECTION 4. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act
PAGE 4-SENATE BILL 25-038 takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the
ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly; except
that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V
of the state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this act
within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take effect
unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in
November 2026 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the official
declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.
____________________________ ____________________________
James Rashad Coleman, Sr. Julie McCluskie
PRESIDENT OF SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
THE SENATE OF REPRESENTATIVES
____________________________ ____________________________
Esther van Mourik Vanessa Reilly
SECRETARY OF CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE
THE SENATE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APPROVED________________________________________
(Date and Time)
_________________________________________
Jared S. Polis
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF COLORADO
PAGE 5-SENATE BILL 25-038