In Colorado, Governor Agrees That Not All Homeland Security Records Should Be Kept from Public

Gov. Bill Owens says he supports easing a Colorado law that decreed every record concerning homeland security to be secret. The law, passed in 2002 with little notice at the time, has prevented the media and the public from learning how more than $100 million in federal homeland security grants have been spent in Colorado since 2002. The law is so broad that some officials have wondered if they would be barred from telling the public how to evacuate Denver in a terrorist attack because the evacuation plan is secret. Officials who favor the secrecy law say they don't want to reveal the state's vulnerabilities to terrorists. Proponents of openness fear that homeland security money may be wasted on improper spending or poor priorities. Michael Beasley, head of the Department of Local Affairs, which oversees homeland security grants, on Thursday called a meeting for Nov. 18 to discuss changing the law. "Gov. Owens and I understand the need to balance the need of the public's right to know with the obligation to provide public safety. We support disclosing that information which would not be contrary to the public interest or jeopardize public safety," Beasley wrote in a letter to police and fire chiefs, state officials and media associations. The meeting will bring them together with legislators to discuss a change in the law. The law currently denies public access to "specialized details of security arrangements or investigations." But it defines them as including all records received by, provided to, or from the state's homeland security office in connection with the performance of its duties. The official name of the state's homeland security section is Office of Preparedness, Security, and Fire Safety.