A Bill for an Act
Page 1, Line 101Concerning protection of the personal information of
Page 1, Line 102persons impacted by wildlife damage.
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at http://leg.colorado.gov/.)
Water Resources and Agriculture Review Committee. Under current law, a person may file a claim with the division of parks and wildlife (division) for compensation for damages to property caused by wildlife, and the division must review and investigate that claim (claim procedures). The bill changes current law by requiring that the personal information of a claimant received by the division through the claim procedures and proactive nonlethal measures is kept confidential and not disclosed pursuant to the "Colorado Open Records Act".
Page 2, Line 1Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
Page 2, Line 2SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly finds that:
Page 2, Line 3(a) Proposition 114, the ballot measure enacted in 2020 that
Page 2, Line 4authorized the process to introduce gray wolves in Colorado, explicitly
Page 2, Line 5required the state to fairly compensate owners for losses of livestock
Page 2, Line 6caused by gray wolves in addition to losses of livestock caused by other wildlife;
Page 2, Line 7(b) To fulfill this obligation, the general assembly passed and the
Page 2, Line 8governor signed into law Senate Bill 23-255, enacted in 2023, which,
Page 2, Line 9along with funding sources that exist for damages resulting from other
Page 2, Line 10types of wildlife, created a dedicated compensation fund to compensate owners for depredation of livestock and working animals by gray wolves;
Page 2, Line 11(c) Now that gray wolves have been released and are present in
Page 2, Line 12Colorado, along with depredation by other wildlife, livestock and
Page 2, Line 13working animals have been killed by wolves, entitling ranchers to compensation for the losses; and
Page 2, Line 14(d) However, ranchers in the state have been reluctant to
Page 2, Line 15participate in site assessments and file claims for compensation due to the
Page 2, Line 16fear of their personal information being made public through open
Page 2, Line 17records requests brought by individuals and organizations with the intent of:
Page 2, Line 18(I) Traveling to the rancher's home or business to view gray wolves and other wildlife;
Page 2, Line 19(II) Contacting the rancher directly; or
Page 3, Line 1(III) Using the rancher's personal information to conduct other invasions of the rancher's privacy.
Page 3, Line 2(2) The general assembly therefore declares that:
Page 3, Line 3(a) It is the intent of the state through the enactment of Proposition
Page 3, Line 4114 and Senate Bill 23-255 to prevent future depredations and fairly compensate ranchers for their losses; and
Page 3, Line 5(b) By protecting the personal information of compensation
Page 3, Line 6claimants, more ranchers will be comfortable submitting depredation
Page 3, Line 7claims to the division of parks and wildlife and participating in proactive
Page 3, Line 8nonlethal measures, and the intent of Proposition 114 and Senate Bill 23-255 will be better fulfilled.
Page 3, Line 9SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add 33-3-110.5 as follows:
Page 3, Line 1033-3-110.5. Confidentiality of personal information -
Page 3, Line 11definition. (1) As used in this section, "personal information" means:
Page 3, Line 12(a) A claimant's:
(I) Name;
Page 3, Line 13(II) Phone number;
(III) Home address;
Page 3, Line 14(IV) Business address;
(V) Personal email address; or
Page 3, Line 15(VI) Business email address; or
Page 3, Line 16(b) Any other information that would reveal the identity of the claimant or the claimant's business.
Page 3, Line 17(2) The personal information of a claimant that the
Page 3, Line 18division receives through the claim procedures described in
Page 4, Line 1sections 33-3-107 to 33-3-110 and proactive nonlethal measures,
Page 4, Line 2including site assessments conducted by state officials and
Page 4, Line 3third parties to prevent future depredation, is confidential and
Page 4, Line 4is not subject to disclosure pursuant to the "Colorado Open Records Act", part 2 of article 72 of title 24.
Page 4, Line 5(3) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the
Page 4, Line 6contrary, any claimant, or authorized designee or
Page 4, Line 7representative of the claimant, that requests records
Page 4, Line 8pertaining to the claimant's own claim pursuant to the
Page 4, Line 9"Colorado Open Records Act", part 2 of article 72 of title 24, is
Page 4, Line 10entitled to receive the records without regard to subsection (2) of this section.
Page 4, Line 11SECTION 3. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act
Page 4, Line 12takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the
Page 4, Line 13ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly; except
Page 4, Line 14that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V
Page 4, Line 15of the state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this
Page 4, Line 16act within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take
Page 4, Line 17effect unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in
Page 4, Line 18November 2026 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.