History

On April 2, 2009, Governor Bill Ritter issued Executive Order D 007 09 Establishing the Transparency Online Project (TOP). The Executive Order was supported by elected officials Treasurer Cary Kennedy, Secretary of State Bernie Buescher, and Attorney General John Suthers, as well as representatives from the Judicial and Executive Branches of Government. In the 2009 legislative session, the Legislature enacted and the Governor signed House Bill 09-1288, which aligns with the Executive Order. The Order stated the following:

"Transparency and accountability to state citizens is a hallmark of good government. The Open Meetings Act and the Colorado Open Records Act provide Colorado's citizens with a strong expectation of accountability by providing open access to the state's public records and meetings. The advent of the internet provides new opportunities for state governments to foster transparency and accountability."

The subject of a Colorado searchable database of state financial information was first broached by Representative Don Marostica in the 2007 legislative session with House Bill 07-1164. While that bill was not enacted, Representative Marostica worked with other state elected officials to support the Governor's 2009 Executive Order establishing the TOP system.

On July 1, 2014, the State implemented a new ERP system, CORE. A new transparency web site was launched on January 1, 2015 containing information from the new system. The old transparency site will be available for access to data prior to July 1, 2014.

The TOP system is not intended to replace Colorado citizen's access to public information allowed by the Colorado Open Records Act. Rather it is intended to reduce the time and cost associated with open records requests and to maximize convenience for state citizens in accessing state financial information. Any information that is not available in the TOP system remains available to the public in accordance with the Colorado Open Records Act.