The Cape Town Open Education Declaration gives a great explanation as to the "what" and "why" of OER.
The University of Northern Colorado's Libraries OER LibGuide has a list of International OER Initiatives that show the history and scope of open education worldwide. They also provide a list of local Colorado and nationwide Laws & Regulations (e.g. House/Senate Bills/Acts & their sponsors) pertaining to Open Education.
SPARC has put together two State Policy Resources: the OER State Policy Tracker and the OER State Policy Playbook; Creative Commons has the OER State Legislative Guide.