§ 6-4-111 — Civil discovery request - rules

(1) When the attorney general has
reasonable cause to believe that any person has engaged in, is engaging in, or may
have information related to a violation of this article 4 or of any provision of the
federal antitrust statutes that may be enforced by the attorney general, the
attorney general may:

(a) Request the person, under oath or otherwise and on forms prescribed by
the attorney general, to file a statement or report in writing, or to answer in writing,
any questions propounded by the attorney general as to all facts and
circumstances reasonably related to the alleged or potential violation and to
provide any other data and information the attorney general reasonably deems
necessary;

(b) Issue subpoenas to require the attendance of witnesses or the production
of relevant documents, administer oaths, conduct hearings in aid of an investigation
or inquiry, and prescribe forms and adopt rules as may reasonably be deemed
necessary to administer this section; and

(c) Make true copies, at the expense of the attorney general, of any
documents examined pursuant to subsection (1)(b) of this section, which copies may
be offered into evidence in lieu of the originals in any civil action brought pursuant
to this article 4. The person producing the documents may require that the attorney
general make copies of the documents. If the attorney general determines the use
of originals is necessary, the attorney general shall pay to have copies of those
documents made for use by the person producing the documents.

(2) Service of any request or subpoena must be made in the manner
prescribed by law.

(3) Any written response, testimony, or documents obtained by the attorney
general pursuant to this section, or any information derived directly or indirectly
from such written response, testimony, or documents, is not admissible in evidence
in any criminal prosecution against the person providing the written response,
testimony, or documents. The provisions of this subsection (3) shall not be
construed to prevent any law enforcement officer, having an independent basis to
produce or obtain the facts, information, or evidence, from producing or obtaining
the same or similar facts, information, or evidence for use in any criminal
prosecution.

(4) Nothing in this section prohibits the attorney general from disclosing
information obtained pursuant to this section to any other law enforcement agency,
department of any governmental or public entity of this or any other state, or the
federal government if such other law enforcement agency or department executes
an agreement that the information will remain confidential and will not be used in
any criminal prosecution against the person providing the written response,
testimony, or documents.

(5) If any person fails to appear or fails to cooperate with any investigation or
inquiry pursuant to a request or subpoena issued pursuant to this section, the
attorney general may apply to any district court for an appropriate order to effect
the purposes of this section. The application must state that there is reasonable
cause to believe that the order applied for is necessary to investigate, prosecute, or
terminate a violation of this article 4. If the court is satisfied that reasonable cause
exists, the court may:

(a) Require the attendance of, or the production of documents by, the
person, or both;

(b) Assess a civil penalty of up to five thousand dollars for the failure to
appear and answer questions, written or otherwise, or the failure to produce
documents, unless the court finds that the failure to appear, to answer questions, or
to produce documents was substantially justified or that other circumstances make
an assessment of a civil penalty unjust;

(c) Award the attorney general reasonable costs and attorney fees in making
this application, unless the court finds that the failure to appear, to answer
questions, or to produce documents was substantially justified or that other
circumstances make an award of costs and attorney fees unjust;

(d) Enter any protective order as provided for in the Colorado rules of civil
procedure; and

(e) Grant such other or further relief as may be necessary to obtain
compliance by the person.

(6) (a) The attorney general may deem any investigative records or records
regarding intelligence information obtained under this article 4 public records
subject to public inspection pursuant to part 2 of article 72 of title 24.

(b) Nothing in this subsection (6) shall be construed to prevent or limit the
attorney general's authority to issue public statements describing or warning of any
course of conduct or conspiracy that violates this article 4, whether the public
statements are made on a local, statewide, regional, or nationwide basis.

Legislative History

Source: L. 2023: Entire article R&RE, (HB 23-1192), ch. 427, p. 2513, � 2, effective June 7.