A recent Wisconsin court of appeals decision should be seen as good news because it strengthens the state’s fee recovery provision and puts records requesters in a stronger position. That’s the opinion of Christa Westerberg, vice president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, a member of the National Freedom of Information Coalition. The appeals […]
Tag: Wisconsin Open Records Law
Loophole allows Wisconsin legislators to destroy emails; ‘Obviously it’s troubling,’ FOI council leader says
Unlike other public officials in Wisconsin, state legislators can destroy documents to avoid records requests, according to a report by the Racine County Eye. State legislators must comply with the state’s Open Records Law — if they have the requested documents in their possession. There’s nothing preventing them from destroying documents, and one state representative […]
lawmaker sued over alleged open records violation
A conservative law firm sued a Democratic state lawmaker for allegedly violating the Wisconsin open records law after charging more than $3,000 for requested records, the latest front in the ongoing battle over whether emails must be provided electronically or on paper. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty filed the lawsuit Thursday in Dane […]
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Judge: Wisconsin lawmaker should have provided electronic copies of open records
MADISON – A state lawmaker should have provided a journalist with electronic copies of records, a Dane County judge has ruled. In her decision Friday, Circuit Judge Rhonda Lanford wrote that Rep. Scott Krug (R-Nekoosa) should have provided electronic copies of emails requested by a longtime reporter and freedom of information advocate. Bill Lueders, the […]
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Wisconsin Supreme Court hears arguments about union vote records
The Wisconsin Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in a challenge by Madison Teachers Inc. to a state agency’s decision to withhold union recertification records — a case that could have broader implications for the state’s open records law. The case stems from a 2015 decision by the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission to deny the […]
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Many Wisconsin school districts fail test on records
State law makes nearly all governmental records open to inspection and copying, and requires custodians to release records “as soon as possible and without delay.” So how are they doing? Recently, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty conducted an experiment to see how well school districts are complying with the state’s open records law. […]
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City: No more texting for Sun Prairie officials?
City of Sun Prairie employees and elected officials won’t be able to text on city-owned cell phones under a new proposed policy.
City officials want to crack down on texting because they say it’s difficult to retain the records, required under the Wisconsin Open Records Laws. Continue…
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Wisconsin democrats call for enshrining open records, meetings law in constitution
Democratic lawmakers in Wisconsin are calling for a constitutional amendment to protect the state’s open records and meetings laws from future tinkering.
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Wisconsin Supreme Court considers open records case
The Wisconsin Supreme Court is considering whether some common public records like traffic accident reports and tickets should be off-limits to journalists in a case that could affect the state's long-standing open records law.
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New emails reveal Wisconsin GOP weighing another attack on open records
After proposing to gut the state’s open records law in July, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and legislative leaders were bombarded with a bipartisan backlash and quickly did an about-face. They released a joint statement to the effect that all changes would be abandoned pending the findings of a study committee.
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