MADISON – The Wisconsin Supreme Court determined Tuesday that a state official could take longer than usual to release public records about union elections to combat the threat of voter intimidation in those elections. The 5-2 ruling was a blow to unions and advocates of the open records law, which ordinarily requires documents to be […]
Tag: Wisconsin Public Records Law
Wi: State still slow to respond to some public records requests
Most state agencies are now systematically tracking requests for public records but can still take weeks to respond to relatively straightforward queries, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has found.
The newspaper made a records request to 22 key state agencies and officials to track their compliance with an order by Gov. Scott Walker in March 2016 seeking to strengthen the state's most important tool for providing information to the public.
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Bill Lueders: Lawmaker contacts shouldn’t be secret
From Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council: Sandy Whisler was surprised to see her name appear on the Wisconsin State Journal’s editorial page — not in a letter to the editor, which she sometimes writes, but in a Nov. 20 editorial.
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Read More… from Bill Lueders: Lawmaker contacts shouldn’t be secret
Editorial: Stop blacking out public records
From Wisconsin State Journal: Gov. Scott Walker eventually got it right — after being sued.
Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, got it wrong and is still being challenged in court.
Sen. Mary Lazich, R-New Berlin, wasn’t even close in her latest response to an open records request.
Too many elected officials in Wisconsin are blacking out information on public documents for no good reason.
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NFOIC’s State FOIA Friday for October 25, 2013
From NFOIC: A few state FOIA and local open government news items selected from many of interest that we might or might not have drawn attention to earlier in the week. While you're at it, be sure to check out State FOIA Friday Archives.
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Read More… from NFOIC’s State FOIA Friday for October 25, 2013
Gene Policinski: John Doe cast tests press freedom
From Portage Daily Register: The First Amendment is very clear in its 45 words that it protects a “free press” along with our rights to religious freedom, free speech and the rights to assemble and petition.
But the founders, in effect, placed a responsibility on that free press in return for being the only profession named in the Bill of Rights: The news media were to be a “watchdog on government,” providing us with the facts, perspective and sometimes contrarian views that help citizens better chart the course of their government.
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Editorial: John Doe records should be released
From Journal Sentinel: The secret investigation into the Milwaukee County executive’s office is over — over for more than seven months now. But thousands of Milwaukee County documents and emails that were part of the inquiry remain secret.
That simply should not be.
The Journal Sentinel is seeking these documents on behalf of the public. The county records belong to the citizens of Milwaukee County, and the citizens of Milwaukee County have a legal right to know what’s in them.
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Read More… from Editorial: John Doe records should be released
Media companies seek to intervene in ‘John Doe’ case
From The Chippewa Herald: A group of media outlets and organizations advocating for freedom of information filed a motion Tuesday in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals aimed at ensuring that records involving a former aide to Scott Walker are not kept secret.
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NFOIC’s State FOIA Friday for October 4, 2013
From NFOIC: A few state FOIA and local open government news items selected from many of interest that we might or might not have drawn attention to earlier in the week. While you're at it, be sure to check out State FOIA Friday Archives.
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Read More… from NFOIC’s State FOIA Friday for October 4, 2013