Colorado legislative leaders will soon vote on whether to extend or make permanent a system to livestream video of committee hearings at the Capitol.

The Executive Committee of the Legislative Council, made up of party leaders in both chambers, approved a pilot program earlier this year for video streaming in five committee rooms. Previously, only audio was livestreamed and archived for committee hearings, making Colorado an outlier among state legislatures.

Since then, people accessed committee video livestreams over 15,000 times during 35 meetings between July 30 and Nov. 5, according to a report from Legislative Council Staff. About 60 percent of those views were related to the planning, proceedings and aftermath of the special legislative session in August. The most-viewed meeting was an economic forecast to the Joint Budget Committee on Sept. 22.

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“A major change during the process of the pilot project was that users can now see live slide presentations,” LCS Director Natalie Castle told lawmakers on Friday morning. “That was one of the things we heard from people that they were really happy to be able to see.”

The video stream shows the same view as a committee participant on Zoom, with a fixed wide shot on the committee room dais, remote participants and any materials being presented.

The pilot program has been extended until the end of the year.

“Video can make it easier for people to follow committee testimony as well as statements made by committee members, especially when speakers aren’t identified,” reads a letter of support from the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition and other organizations to Legislative Council. “Video provides context, allowing observers to see who is present and to gauge the emotions and reactions of lawmakers and others in the room. When people can watch the legislative process, they can better understand the legislative process, and that can foster more civic engagement.”

The Colorado General Assembly is currently the only state legislature in the country that does not provide video of committee hearings, according to a document shared earlier this year by the CFOIC.

The executive committee will vote on whether to make video streaming permanent at their next meeting. It would cost $20,000 to set up and then $50,000 per year, primarily for storage costs.

“I want to voice my enthusiastic support of continuing and expanding what we have already done,” House Speaker Julie McCluskie, a Dillon Democrat, said. “I have had conversations and really appreciate the overall perceived value that this has brought to our public.”