Action alert on proposed exemption for records of UW research

The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council is issuing an action alert regarding Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to exempt records of University of Wisconsin research from the state’s Open Records Law. The governor’s budget bill, SB21, on P. 181-182, would create this new section of the statute: 19.36 (14) UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN SYSTEM AUTHORITY. Any authority may withhold […]

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Fight AB-340

The Assembly Criminal Justice Committee today heard testimony on AB-340 (attached), Rep. Marlin Schneider’s latest effort to destroy WCCA, the state’s online circuit court records system. The bill would prohibit WCCA (commonly and incorrectly called CCAP) from displaying information about criminal cases that do not lead to convictions or civil lawsuits that do not lead […]

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Report, editorialize on legislative move

This article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel describes a legislative move to exempt judges and district attorneys from those public officials whose economic interest statements would be posted on the Internet, in a bill meant to increase transparency. While the overall bill would still be an improvement, this provision in predicated on the assumption that […]

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Support ‘Whistleblower Protection Act’

State Rep. Joe Parisi and Sen. Pat Krietlow are now lining up cosponsors on a state Whistleblower Protection Act, affirming the right of journalists to protect confidential sources. Wisconsin is in a minority of states that do not have statutory shield law protections, although there have been some supportive court rulings. We urge advocates of […]

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Argue against expungement provision

Gov. Jim Doyle’s proposed budget bill includes a provision to greatly expand expungement of criminal convictions. Under current law, expungement (including the complete purging of records) is available only for persons who are convicted of misdemeanor offenses committed before they reach age 21. The proposed change would make a person eligible for expungement up until […]

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Stand against records exemptions

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle’s proposed budget includes a provision instructing law enforcement officers in most Wisconsin counties to begin collecting information on traffic stops, as a way to gauge whether racial profiling is occurring. The proposal calls for these records to be exempt from the state’s open records law. According to this article in the […]

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