Nonprofit Member Data Privacy & Public Agencies

With certain exceptions, the bill prohibits a public agency from:

• Requiring any person to provide the public agency with data that may identify a member of a nonprofit entity (member-specific data) or compelling the disclosure of member-specific data;
• Disclosing member-specific data to any person; or
• Requesting or requiring a current or prospective contractor or a current or prospective grantee of a grant program administered by the public agency to provide a list of nonprofit entities to which the current or prospective contractor or grantee has provided financial or nonfinancial support.

A nonprofit entity or any of its members affected adversely by a public agency's violation of the bill's provisions may initiate a civil action against the public agency in district court for injunctive relief, damages, or such other relief as is appropriate. Notwithstanding existing laws concerning governmental immunity, a court may award damages against a public agency that violates the bill's provisions as follows:

• Not less than $2,500 for each reckless violation; and
• Not less than $7,500 for each intentional violation.

A court may also award the costs of litigation to a complainant that prevails in such an action.

The bill prohibits a custodian of public records (custodian) from requiring a nonprofit entity to produce member-specific data that is contained in public records where such records are not subject to inspection and copying pursuant to the "Colorado Open Records Act". A custodian must deny any request to inspect, copy, or reproduce any member-specific data in the possession of a public agency and provided to the public agency by a nonprofit entity. A custodian must not require a nonprofit entity to produce records and information relating to the identification of individual employees of nonprofit entities with whom the public entity contracts for services or of individual employees of subcontractors of such nonprofit entities.

(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)