It’s hard to fathom how Colorado ended up the only state in the nation not to livestream its state legislative committee hearings. That said, a 5-1 vote just before the end of last year by the Executive Committee of the Legislative Council — the six top leaders of the Colorado House and Senate — at last will usher in a proper level of transparency and public access. Our state’s committee hearings will start livestreaming Jan. 14, the commencement of the 2026 legislative session.

And hats off to the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, the nonpartisan watchdog that, for the past year-and-a-half, has been dogged in pursuing the change. It will bring more of the sausage making of the state’s legislative process to the screens of taxpayers seeking to access it in real time on a smartphone or computer.

Common sense and modern technology suggest there really shouldn’t be much of a hurdle for the state legislature to implement the technology. Anyone anywhere can “go live” and record or stream themselves, others or whatever they wish via social media platforms and apps that are literal clicks of a finger away. Many municipalities across the state — and world, for that matter — long have streamed and/or recorded various meetings and public business. 

It was the “social distancing” of the COVID era beginning in 2020 that had prompted many local and state governments to begin livestreaming their proceedings if they weren’t already doing so. There was simply no other way for the public to eavesdrop and way in.

That said, it still took a proof-of-concept for this change to get the official thumbs-up at Colorado’s Capitol. That came this past summer, when the CFOIC spearheaded the effort to have the executive committee approve a pilot program to livestream committee hearings during last August’s special session. It was the first time in state history taxpayers could see lawmakers and witnesses in such a setting.

A few months later, Legislative Council staff issued a report noting the livestreams were accessed more than 15,000 times between July 30 and Nov. 5, spanning 35 committee hearings. Clearly, the high number of views reflected plenty of public interest in legislative proceedings. 

Were there recommendations for improvements from viewers? Sure, including improving resolution and some elements of interactive functionality. But in a day and age when concerned citizens and media consumers care more and more about direct, authentic accessibility to the meat and potatoes of such information as policymaking and less and less about production quality, the point is to let them see and hear clearly behind the curtain in as simple, direct and as cost-effective a manner as possible.

“Notably,” according to Colorado Politics, “the report said, no one complained about the fixed view of the committee dais or about the video’s lack of a more professional production.”

Then there’s the cost, which at just shy of $63,000 comes in — shocker — cheaper than initially anticipated.

With that, come Wednesday — the beginning of the 2026 state legislative session — we encourage Colorado’s taxpaying citizenry to utilize this long-overdue tool. Not only will it shed light on government’s inner workings, it also will remind elected officials just whom they are accountable to.