In Wisconsin, cities, police and fire departments, state agencies, and even the governor’s office are required to retain public records and make them available to the public.

But decades ago, when it wrote the law, the Legislature decided to exempt itself from having to retain most records. This exemption means that state representatives and senators can destroy or delete records in their possession that they would like to shield from public scrutiny.

A bill introduced earlier this month seeks to eliminate this transparency loophole.

Senate Bill 289 would do away with the statute excluding legislators and their staff from having to retain certain records. The proposal was introduced on April 8 by Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) and Kelda Roys (D-Madison).

“For our democracy to function, we need transparency from all public officials,” Roys told the WNA. “That includes the legislature — the public deserves to know what decisions are made on their behalf, and what forces are influencing their elected officials. This bill simply ensures that the legislature will comply with the same open records laws that apply to other government bodies.”

The Wisconsin Newspaper Association has registered with the Ethics Commission in support of the bill.