Wisconsin’s Open Record Law in Peril

MacIver News Service | July 2, 2015

[Madison, Wisc..] Late Thursday night, right before a holiday weekend, the Joint Committee on Finance voted to effectively end Wisconsin’s open records law, as one of the final actions it took on the state budget.

This item was part of the “Motion #999,” which is the last omnibus motion JFC typically takes up for the budget. It’s a catch-all and is usually filled with surprises. This year, the biggest surprise was a change to open records law that exempts practically all elected officials communications.

MNS’s Bill Osmulski has more about the unusual battle lines this drew.