Recently, late in the evening of Thursday, July 2, the powerful
Legislative Joint Finance Committee approved last-minute changes to Wisconsin's
Open Records Law in the 2015-'17 budget by 12 Republican votes and four
dissenting Democratic votes. These changes were added without the knowledge nor
any input from the public! As of yet, no GOP lawmaker has taken responsibility
for drafting the changes.
The proposed changes would have restricted public records
communications with current and former staff, drafting records of legislation,
as well as records created by the Walker administration, state agencies, and
local governments.
On July 4 news media across the state urged citizens to contact
their government lawmakers and request they remove the proposed changes to the
Open Records Law. Of the emails I sent to lawmakers and public officials, only
a reply from Assembly Speaker Robin Vos addressed my concerns. He said that
“After substantive discussion…we have agreed…that any changes in the state’s
open records law would be removed…The intended policy goal of these changes was
to provide a reasonable solution to protect constituents….It was never intended
to inhibit transparent government.” However, their self-serving action suggests
that GOP members are trying to hide information from the public!
In the end, the voice of the people from throughout the state
demonstrated to the Republican lawmakers that Wisconsin deserves and expects
transparent government. Lawmakers, however, have not abandoned this issue and
have called for a legislative study to further explore changes to Wisconsin’s
Open Records Law. This is a bipartisan issue that should concern every citizen.
In the coming days, citizens need to contact their elected officials and voice
their opinion on this most important issue.
Jim Hansen
Burlington, WI
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