Last year the Colorado legislature voted to exempt itself from large portions of our beloved Open Meetings Law because, as Mel Brooks famously said, “It’s good to be the king.”

It took them no time to exploit their new power to operate in the dark. For the first time in half-century, starting at the special session on property taxes, reporters were not allowed in Democratic caucus meetings. The negotiating was done behind closed doors and rubber stamped when they met in public view.

Fast forward to last Monday, voting down a bill to return the legislature back to sunlight, freshman state representative Chad Clifford indignantly proclaimed his legislature is, “as open as it can be.”

“As open as it can be”? That’s right up there with, “If you like your health care plan you can keep it…,” “I did not have sexual relations with that woman…,” and “I am not a crook.”

Exempting themselves from the Open Meetings Law, putting caucusing and negotiating bills behind closed doors seems the opposite of “open.” But simpletons like me are easily confused.

Could it get worse? How about effectively taking all governmental records that are lawfully open to public inspection and putting them out of reach of reporters and citizens.

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This is a tale of two conflicting bills on transparency. Spoiler alert: the bill that makes it worse is on its way to becoming a law. The bill that would hold our government more accountable was slaughtered in its first committee.

None of this is a surprise. All of this is an insult.

I’ve mentioned previously the legislature’s hubris in exempting itself from transparency sparked a counter-movement unlike anything I’ve seen in 35 years of political work. Independence Institute, which I run, has become the meeting ground for a wickedly diverse coalition of some 50 groups, “team transparency”, coming together to force governments to let the sunshine back in.

This is the most unusual ideological gathering of forces since America, Europe and Russia joined together in World War II. When a coalition that includes me, the League of Women Voters, Common Cause, the press and broadcasters’ associations and Jason Salzman of the progressive Colorado Times Recorder come together, is it a sign of the apocalypse? As said in Ghostbusters, “Real-wrath-of-God kind of stuff… dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!”

Or does it mean those in power have gone so far in hiding what they’re doing, they’ve unknowingly done the impossible. In the most polarized and divisive period any living American has seen, they’ve brought sworn political enemies, left and right, together for a shared goal. This is Nobel Prize stuff. Send them to Gaza.

House Bill 1242 by State Sen. Byron Pelton and Rep. Lori Garcia Sander was a product of this coalition. The bill would have repealed last year’s act of legislative arrogance, capped and standardized the costs of open record requests and set hard deadlines for all Colorado governments to make requested material available.

Last Monday Rep. Garcia Sander passionately presented our bill to the House Committee on State Affairs, affectionately known as “the kill committee.” And on a party-line vote, kill it they did. And the executioners stuck to their talking points: pillaging the Open Meetings Law was needed so accidental meetings in the Capitol stairwells weren’t violations (which was never an issue).

To add insult to injury this same committee of courageous heroes dutifully passed Senate Bill 77 which allows districts to stall open records requests potentially indefinitely. Not only does it greatly increase costs to get public records, but it also lets districts legally say, “oh, the person who could get that record is on maternity leave, come back in a year, and then, well, maybe.”

In a brazen attempt to suck up to the legacy press, the bill treats requests from “mass media” to faster and better access than we poor schlubs like citizens, activists and bloggers. Who might they be trying to butter up?

When Gov. Jared Polis unfortunately signed the bill exempting the legislature from open meetings, he said it was just the legislature making their own rules. But if he signs Senate Bill 77 he will be putting more than 5,000 governments out of reach from the people who hold it accountable.

Maybe he wants a Nixon-like legacy.

Jon Caldara is president of the Independence Institute in Denver and hosts “The Devil’s Advocate with Jon Caldara” on Colorado Public Television Channel 12. His column appears Sundays in Colorado Politics.