(1) Except as specified in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, information and records of the commission enumerated by this section are confidential and may not be disclosed except pursuant to a court order. No person may by subpoena or statutory authority obtain such information or records. Information and records considered confidential include:
Tax returns of individual licensees;
Credit reports and security reports and procedures of applicants and other personsseeking to do business or doing business with the commission;
Audit work papers, worksheets, and auditing procedures used by the commission, itsagents, or employees; and
Investigative reports concerning violations of law or concerning the backgrounds oflicensees, applicants, or other persons prepared by division investigators or investigators from other agencies working with the commission and any work papers related to the reports; except that the commission may, in its sole discretion, disclose so much of the reports or work papers as it deems necessary and prudent.
Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to requests for information or recordsdescribed in subsection (1) of this section from the governor, attorney general, state auditor, any of the respective district attorneys of this state, or any federal or state law enforcement agency, or for the use of the information or records by the executive director, director, or commission for official purposes, or by employees of the division or the department in the performance of their authorized and official duties.
This section does not make confidential the aggregate tax collections during anyreporting period, the names and businesses of licensees, or figures showing the aggregate amount of money bet during any reporting period.
(a) A person who discloses confidential records or information in violation of this section commits a class 1 misdemeanor and shall be punished as provided in section 18-1.3-501. A criminal prosecution pursuant to this section must be brought within five years after the date the violation occurred.
If a person violating this section is an officer or employee of the state, in addition toany other penalties or sanctions, the person is subject to dismissal if the procedures in section 2450-125 are followed.
A person is liable for treble damages to an injured party in a civil action the subjectof which includes the release of confidential records or information, if the person violating this section is a current employee or officer of the state who obtained the confidential records or information specified in subsection (1) of this section during his or her employment.
A former employee or officer is liable for treble damages to an injured party in acivil action the subject of which includes the release of records or information after leaving state employment if the person violating this section is a former employee or officer of the state who obtained the confidential records or information during his or her employment and the person executed a written statement with the state agreeing to be held to the confidentiality standards expressed in this subsection (4).
Source: L. 2019: Entire part added, (HB 19-1327), ch. 347, p. 3227, § 12, effective May 1, 2020.
Editor's note: Section 16(2) of chapter 347 (HB 19-1327), Session Laws of Colorado 2019, provides that this section takes effect May 1, 2020, only if, at the November 2019 statewide election, a majority of voters approve the ballot question submitted pursuant to § 4430-1514. That ballot question, referred to the registered electors as proposition DD, was approved on November 5, 2019, and was proclaimed by the Governor on December 20, 2019. The vote count for the measure was as follows:
For: 800,745
Against: 756,712