Concerned the measure would “act as an impediment to legitimate challenges to open meetings,” Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday vetoed a heavily amended bill that would have barred pro se litigants who sue over executive sessions from collecting legal fees if they prevailed in court.

As introduced, House Bill 23-1259 would have allowed school boards and other local public bodies to “cure” an inadequately announced closed-door meeting at a subsequent meeting, and anyone who unsuccessfully challenged an executive session announcement in court would have been liable for the government’s court costs and attorney fees.

The Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition argued the bill diminished local government transparency and created a risky financial barrier for anyone interested in filing an accountability lawsuit over whether a local public body announced a closed-door meeting with enough specificity.

Eventually, CFOIC helped persuade lawmakers to rewrite the measure, leaving only the provision affecting pro se litigants such as a Pagosa Springs lawyer who has represented himself in 46 open-government lawsuits over the past three years, often settling with school districts and other local governments for amounts of about $3,000.