A representative government is dependent on an informed electorate
On Tuesday, Sept. 17, the Sauk County Board voted to spend $40,500 to buy a sheriff’s department vehicle to replace one totaled in a July incident. The resolution printed on the agenda included details of the incident, the car dealer and a fiscal note explaining that the money would come from insurance accounts. This display […]
Continue ReadingAs identified by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, September 2024 1. Long waits. The Open Records Law states that requested records must be provided “as soon as practicable and without delay.” It adds that providing access to information “is declared to be … an integral part of the routine duties of [public] officers and […]
Continue ReadingLast March, the Wisconsin Examiner asked the Black River Falls Police Department to search for emails regarding the death of a missing Indigenous man. The department said it would process the request but the news outlet would have to pay $4,400. That’s the amount the city’s IT vendor, Tech Pros, quoted to perform the search. […]
Continue ReadingYou ask for a record from your local government, you get it. You want to attend a meeting of a public body, you can walk right in. Much of the time, it’s that simple. Wisconsin’s open records law entitles citizens to most records regarding the affairs of government, and its open meetings law creates a […]
Continue ReadingOpen Meetings Law Listed below is the complete text of the Wisconsin Open Meetings Law, Wis. Stat. §§ 19.81-19.98, as of July 2024. Click here for a more detailed and annotated version of the statutes. Annotations are useful references to case law and opinions of the Attorney General that can help explain a passage. […]
Continue ReadingOpen Records Law Listed below is the complete text of the Wisconsin Open Records Law, Wis. Stat. §§ 19.31-19.39, as of July 2024. Click here for a more detailed and annotated version of the statutes. Annotations are useful references to case law and opinions of the Attorney General that can help explain a passage. […]
Continue ReadingThe bill moved with lightning speed. It was introduced last December, passed the state Senate in January and the Assembly in February, and was signed into law by Gov. Tony Evers in March. 2023 Wisconsin Act 253 allows police and corrections officials to charge some requesters of video and audio recordings for the cost of […]
Continue ReadingImagine I sue a school district for refusing to provide copies of records. Do I have to prove I’m entitled to them, or does the district have to prove it can withhold them? That’s a question the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, along with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, […]
Continue ReadingThe Wisconsin Supreme Court will soon hear a case involving records related to the voting rights of mentally incompetent people. No matter which side wins, the public has in some ways already lost. That’s because while the case pits the public’s right to scrutinize voter eligibility against the rights of voters to protect their own […]
Continue ReadingA horrific scene played out in February in an apartment complex in Middleton, a Madison suburb. A woman and her two young children had died. The tight-knit community mourned for this family as its members asked: How could this happen? Several days after the shootings, Middleton police released a statement saying the mother had killed […]
Continue ReadingFor the 18th straight year, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council is recognizing outstanding efforts to protect the state’s tradition of open government through its Openness in Government awards, or Opees. The awards are being presented as part of national Sunshine Week, March 10 to 16. Winners have been invited to claim their award at […]
Continue ReadingDear Council members and supporters, Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council President Bill Lueders is calling on Gov. Tony Evers to veto a bill that has overwhelmingly passed both houses of the state legislature. The bill, SB 789, would make those who request video footage from law enforcement and corrections agencies pay for the cost of […]
Continue ReadingYou’ve already paid for them. They’re yours. But if you want to see the public records that show what your government is doing, some state lawmakers want you to pay again — this time, for redactions. That’s right. They want you to pay more to get less. Currently, the state’s Open Records Law allows public […]
Continue ReadingDear Council members and supporters: The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that works to protect access to public meetings and records, is now accepting nominations for its annual Openness in Government Awards, or Opees. Awards are given in six categories: Popee (public openness award): Recognizes extraordinary service to the cause of […]
Continue ReadingLaw enforcement officers in Winnebago County shot three people in 2023, one fatally. And while we know the names of the people shot, the identities of those who pulled the trigger remain secret. The fatal shooting, on Aug. 2, was of an armed 37-year-old man at a Neenah gas station by an Outagamie County sheriff’s […]
Continue ReadingAbout a year ago, Simon Mehring came home from a high school journalism conference with an idea. Mehring, now a junior at Stoughton High School, had learned about an Illinois law that protects student media from censorship. He also found out that Wisconsin doesn’t have such a law. So, armed with model legislation from the […]
Continue ReadingPossible changes in law or policy to increase transparency, as identified by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council Updated November 2023 Add statutory time limits for responding to records requests Under the state’s Open Records Law, state and local officials are required to respond to records requests “as soon as practicable and without delay.” This […]
Continue ReadingOn Oct. 9, 2023, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held a lively, 35-minute discussion on whether to allow the deletion of certain eviction records from Wisconsin’s online court records system. I’ll get to that topic in a moment; what’s remarkable is that we were able to witness this discussion at all. In 2012, a divided Wisconsin […]
Continue ReadingIn mid-August, in my role as a press advocate, I received a call from the owner of a small, vibrant, online community newspaper who was worried about publishing a story that reflected poorly on a local business. The paper had checked and rechecked its facts, and gave the business repeated opportunities to comment. But still, […]
Continue ReadingAs part of doing business, government agencies often maintain contact lists or distribution lists. These days those are typically email addresses, but they also can contain physical addresses or even phone numbers. Your state legislator probably has a list of email addresses to send newsletters. Your local governmental units might have multiple lists for different […]
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