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Committee advances bill making certain state-held bank records confidential
Summary
Representative Bricken said HB 16-33 would codify current confidentiality for state-held bank information; legal counsel told members law enforcement could still obtain records by subpoena or court order.
The committee advanced House Bill 16-33, a bill the sponsor described as aligning statute with current departmental practice to keep certain bank information confidential.
Representative Bricken told the committee the bill "just puts in the code what they're currently practicing to be sure bank information is kept confidential." Members pressed on whether the change would block public-records requests in cases of alleged financial impropriety. Legal counsel answered, "These records would be confidential under the Public Records Act. If there was some kind of financial impropriety and law enforcement was involved, they could issue a subpoena or get a court order for the records." Committee members then returned to session and voted; the clerk announced the result as 18 ayes and 4 nos, moving the bill to the next committee assignment.
The sponsor and legal staff said the bill does not change existing law on law-enforcement access by subpoena; members asked for clarity on the Public Records Act's current operation as related to the bill.
