A representative government is dependent on an informed electorate
Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council Minutes of the April 19, 2012 meetingCapital Newspapers auditorium 1) The meeting was called to order at 2:10 p.m. In attendance were Dee Hall, MarkPitsch, Beth Bennett, Bob Dreps, Chris Hardie, Michael Buelow, Doug Wojcik, Dave Zweifel,Bob Drechsel, Bill Lueders, Christa Westerberg, Andy Hall, Steve Lovejoy and Gina Duwe andguests […]
Continue ReadingWisconsin Freedom of Information Council Minutes of the Jan. 19, 2012 meetingCapital Newspapers auditorium 1) The meeting was called to order at 2:05 p.m. Attending were Dee Hall, Bob Dreps, RogerSchneider, Tom Bier, Perry Boxx, Michael Buelow, Anita Weier, Steve Lovejoy, Doug Wojcik,Dave Zweifel, Bob Drechsel, Mark Pitsch, Andy Hall, Bill Lueders, Gina Duwe, ChristaWesterberg […]
Continue ReadingThe Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, a nonprofit group that works to protect public access to meetings and records, is inviting nominations for its 2012-13 Opee awards, recognizing achievements high and low. The awards can recognize actions from February 2012 through to the present day. The awards will be announced in March as part of the […]
Continue ReadingStung by controversy last year over its allegedly light treatment of an environmental rule breaker, the state Department of Natural Resources is rewriting its enforcement procedures. Unfortunately, a draft of its plan calls for making the process less transparent. When dealing with polluters, the DNR’s policy is to apply progressively stricter actions until violations are […]
Continue ReadingRecently the City of Burlington made some changes to its website, adding a feature it calls a “performance dashboard.” The online tool gives city residents a better look – much of it in real time – about what their government is doing. As the site explains, “Users can review monthly and yearly revenue, expenditures, per […]
Continue ReadingWisconsin’s Open Records Law asserts the public’s right to the “greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those officers and employees who represent them.” But the law’s reach has been tested in recent years by electronic communications that are easily sent — and just as easily deleted — from […]
Continue ReadingFrom the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a story of how five Republican legislators settled an open records lawsuit by two liberal groups by agreeing to turn over emails from their personal accounts to and from a conservative organization that works with corporations to draft legislation.
Continue ReadingIn the La Crosse Tribune, Betsy Bloom examines the open records implications of cellular texts and tweets among public officials.
Continue ReadingFrom the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the story of a Court of Appeals decision that all government contractors are subject to Minnesota’s open records laws. “Under the law, private residents or businesses contracting with the government must comply with the Data Practices Act “as if it were a government entity.” “
Continue ReadingWisconsin, it’s said, had the nation’s first state law mandating public access to government records. It was passed in 1849, a year after Wisconsin entered the union. The law has undergone two subsequent reworkings, the last in 1981. But in truth, it never stops changing. Amendments are passed, practices change, and court rulings redefine the […]
Continue ReadingFrom the ACLU of Wisconsin site, a photographers’ rights workshop to be held October 16, 2012, at the UW Law School in Madison, featuring presenters Christa Westerberg, vice-president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, and Michael P. King, a staff photojournalist at the Wisconsin State Journal.
Continue ReadingFrom the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism site, titled “AG updates open records guide”, Bill Lueders explains the most important changes in the Attorney General’s open records compliance guide, most notably that records custodians may not charge for the cost of the redaction of sensitive information.
Continue ReadingWisconsin state legislators are routinely deleting emails concerning their involvement with the controversial American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), exploiting a loophole that exempts the Legislature from records retention rules that apply to all other state and local government officials. For more than a year, we at the Center for Media and Democracy, a nonpartisan watchdog […]
Continue ReadingFrom the League of Wisconsin Municipalities site, titled “Municipalities Cannot Recover Costs of Redacting Public Records”: Wisconsin’s municipalities may find they are in a difficult place when it comes to complying with Wisconsin’s public records law. The law requires municipalities to produce any records responsive to a request that can be disclosed while redacting from those same […]
Continue ReadingI don’t know what it’s like to wear handcuffs, or to be threatened with arrest. I hope I never do. But that could happen, because carrying a camera puts a target on one’s back these days. Photography and videography, for news gathering or fun, are garnering lots of attention from police and other public officials. […]
Continue ReadingLast month, the Wisconsin Supreme Court powerfully affirmed the state’s tradition of open and transparent government. In a unanimous ruling, the court affirmed the statutory limits the Legislature placed on public records fees and rejected the argument that requesters can be required to pay “each and every cost incurred by an authority.” The dispute between […]
Continue ReadingFor immediate release Contact: Bill Lueders, (608) 669-4712 The Wisconsin Supreme Court has rendered an important decision, affirming that the state’s open records law means what it says when it limits public officials to charging records requesters for just the “actual, necessary and direct cost” of making copies and in some cases locating and sending […]
Continue ReadingFrom the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Wednesday against the city of Milwaukee and for the Journal Sentinel in a dispute over whether a government body can charge for employees to delete information deemed confidential from public records. By unanimous vote, the high court reversed a Milwaukee County judge’s ruling.”
Continue ReadingWisconsin Freedom of Information Council Minutes of the July 14, 2011 meetingCapital Newspapers auditorium 1) Meeting was called to order at 2:03 p.m. Present were Bill Lueders, Christa Westerberg, DeeHall, Michelle Vetterkind, Beth Bennett, Bob Drechsel, Bob Dreps, Steve Lovejoy, Andy Hall, RogerSchneider, Mike Buelow, Gina Duwe, John Foust, Anita Weier, Mary Callen. 2) Approval […]
Continue ReadingAdvocates of open government often quiz candidates for public office on their level of support for official transparency. The candidates, when asked, always tout their commitment. That doesn’t mean they always deliver. Both Republican Gov. Scott Walker and his Democratic challenger, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, have fielded many requests for public records. Indeed, since becoming […]
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