A bill seeking to open police internal investigations to the public has been passed by Colorado’s House to the Senate.

The controversial measure, House Bill 1119, proposed by Rep. James Coleman, D-Denver, amassed hours of debate over the last week, but the third and final vote in the House Tuesday morning took just minutes.

The bill passed 33-29.

Proponents say the bill would boost transparency in the state’s law enforcement agencies, a necessary step to foster the public’s trust. But opponents say it would open officers to undue and potentially inaccurate scrutiny.

If the measure passes the Senate and is signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis, internal investigation files could be released to the public after all other investigations and criminal proceedings associated were complete. Certain pieces of information, like bank account or social security numbers, would be redacted in the released files.

Currently, individual law enforcement agencies are granted discretion over whether to release those files. Numerous witnesses testified that most agencies across the state deny those requests. While requesters can then dispute that denial in court, the cost of hiring an attorney for the case is too cumbersome for most to consider.

Rep. Shane Sandridge, R-Colorado Springs, said ahead of the vote that he was confident the bill would pass the House, though he opposed the measure. The Senate’s reaction is still up in the air, he said.

A former police officer, Sandridge often repeated that internal investigation files are fraught with inaccuracies and that releasing that information could damage the personal and professional lives of officers, as well as damage hiring prospects for law enforcement agencies across the state.

Others argued that the purpose of releasing internal investigation files is not to drag officers through the mud, but to shed light on the handling of cases and internal workings of departments.

Before the bill’s second vote Monday afternoon, Rep. Dave Williams, R-Colorado Springs, recalled an example from his own town. In 2016, Colorado Springs paid out $100,000 to Alexis Acker to settle an excessive force lawsuit after a city police officer allegedly slammed her to the floor of Memorial Hospital in late 2013, severely injuring her jaw, teeth, face and neck.

Williams hasn’t been the only one to recall the Acker case in arguing for the measure. The officer involved was investigated and disciplined, though the details surrounding the case still remain sealed.

In cases like Acker’s, when taxpayer dollars are paid to settle lawsuits, the public has a right to know the details behind those payouts, Williams and others have said.

Sen. Mike Foote, D-Lafayette, is sponsoring the bill in the Senate, where it will soon be brought for discussion in committee.