DENVER – The House voted unanimously Monday to allow any citizen to sue over a violation of the open-meetings law.

It is the second time in three years lawmakers have pushed back against Colorado court rulings that limit the power of the open-meetings law, which requires elected boards to conduct nearly all of their business in public.

In 2012, the Legislature passed a law saying boards like city councils cannot pick candidates to fill a vacancy in secret. The state Court of Appeals had ruled earlier in favor of secret ballots.

This year, an Arvada resident sued his City Council for choosing a replacement member via secret ballot, but in late March, a judge ruled the resident did not have standing to sue.

House Bill 1390 makes clear that anyone can file a lawsuit over a possible violation of the open-meetings law.

“I have to say, the court’s decision was pretty astounding. The idea that the open-meetings act is only to protect the particular affected individual and not citizens of the community at large is pretty incredible to me,” said the sponsor, Rep. Bob Gardner, R-Colorado Springs, at a brief hearing for the bill last Thursday.

Katie Fleming Dahl, associate director of Colorado Common Cause, said standing to sue should not be limited to a few specific people or even the voters in a particular jurisdiction.

“Every member of the public has a stake in transparency, and so we all should have standing,” she said.

The bill encountered no opposition and moved through the House in just five days.

It is being promoted by the Colorado Press Association, of which The Durango Herald is a member.

jhanel@durangoherald.com