Laserfiche WebLink
<br />A Study 01 GIS 10' the Colorado D8Ilarlment 01 Natu,al ResOu,C8S <br /> <br />Oclobe, 9. 1992 <br /> <br />delivery, dispensing, distributing, or advertising goods or services to the public which is <br />also offered by private enterprise unless specifically authorized by law." <br />CRS 24-113-103(1) (italics added). Subsequently in the same statute, subsection (3) <br />provides that the "restrictions on competition with private enterprise contained in this <br />section do not apply to: <br /> <br />(a) The development, operation, and management of state parks, historical <br />monuments, and hiking or equestrian trials or to the management, protection, or <br />restoration of Colorado's forest and soil resources; <br /> <br />(e) Printing and distributing infonnation to the public if the state agency is otherwise <br />authorized to do so and printing or copying of public records or other materials <br />relating to the state agency's public business if the costs of such printing, <br />copying, and distribution are recovered through fees and charges;". <br /> <br />Certain aspects of DNR's mission are covered under exception (a) and thus the sale of <br />geographic information which relate to the development, operation, and management of the <br />state parks, monuments, and trails, or the management, protection and restoration of forest <br />and soil resources are explicitly authorized and placed outside the blanket prohibition on <br />competition with the private sector. The extent to which such competition will be allowed <br />will likely be strictly construed, since the statute clearly establishes a policy of non- <br />competition to be followed by state agencies. <br /> <br />The newly enacted revisions and additions to the Public Records law argUably include the <br />son of authorization provision anticipated by subsection (e), supra. ' CRS 24-72-205(3) <br />and (4) allow state agencies to charge transaction "cost recovery fee" for the coPYing, <br />printing out, or photographing of the public record. It should be noted however that <br />subsection (4) additional now specifies that the fee charged may include an amount for <br />recovering the cost of database development which may be considered to modify the scope <br />of the authorization granted by the above referenced subsection (e). This could be <br />construed as a prohibition on the element of cost recovery included in subsection (4) when <br />the collecting of fees for the printing, copying, and distribution of information might be <br />seen as occurring in competition with private entities. That is, when a situation arises <br />where the DNR and a private entity are disseminating the same information, the DNR may <br />be prohibited from collecting that portion of their fee or charge, if any, which is attributable <br />to cost recovery for database development In most cases, the private sector will only be in <br />a position to distribute the "same" information as a licensee of the government's custodian, <br />and the rights, duties, and royalties due from such information sales could be addressed in <br />the pany's license. <br /> <br />One other restriction contained in (e) above should be mentioned. The permission to be in <br />some form of competition with private sector businesses with respect to the charging of <br />fees for the copying, distributing, or printing of information held by an agency is restricted <br />to that information which relates to that agency's public business. This restriction is aimed <br />at preventing an agency from setting up a shop to sell information which has absolutely <br /> <br />431.7 <br /> <br />PlanG'aphics, Inc. <br /> <br />9 <br />