WNA President Pat Reilly on Thursday testified in support of legislation that would allow for the recovery of attorney fees and costs under the state’s public records law when an authority voluntarily or unilaterally releases a contested record after an action has been filed in court.

Senate Bill 117, co-sponsored by Republicans Sen. Duey Stroebel and Rep. Todd Novak, rolls back a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision from 2022 that restricted the public’s ability to recover fees when suing for records.

“Under the ruling, a government entity can feel emboldened to withhold public records from a requestor, with the knowledge that a requestor will need to weigh the burden of suing the entity for said records, while that the government entity could release the records after a lawsuit is filed without having to pay attorney fees,” Novak, former editor of The Dodgeville Chronicle, said. This can result in a chilling effect and prevent public access to government records.”

Read Reilly’s testimony below.

Testimony to Senate Committee on Government Operations, Elections and Consumer Protection

Good morning, Chairman Stroebel and members of the committee, my name is Pat Reilly, and I am the publisher of The Dodgeville Chronicle, the Democrat Tribune in Mineral Point and the Pecatonica Valley Leader covering the communities of Argyleand Blanchardville.

I am here today in my capacity as president of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association to testify in support of Senate Bill 117. I would like to begin my remarks by thanking the sponsors of this much needed legislation, Senator Stroebel and Representative Todd Novak.

I believe that to have a truly strong democratic society a certain amount of openness and transparency is required so that citizens know that government business is being conducted fairly and ethically.

Most people agree that government deliberations and procedures should be well-documented to provide transparency and accountability to the inner workings of government.

Access to information that supports a strong democracy comes in large part via access to public records. Unfortunately, a recent Wisconsin Supreme Court decision threatens the public’s ability to legally pursue, when necessary, access to these documents.

If left to stand, this decision would make it financially difficult to legally pursue a contested request by denying the recovery of attorney’s fees.

It has been my experience that in most instances, public records are readily available. But, in those cases where access is denied it becomes incumbent upon the media to pursue the records — which could require litigation.

Litigation, as we know, can be expensive. The denial of the payment of attorney’s fees in cases where we may ultimately prevail prior to the case being litigated will have a tremendous chilling affect on the media’s ability to pursue documents. To put it quite simply, we could no longer afford the cost of keeping government accountable when necessary.

It is the role of the newspaper to monitor and report on the government. We are the eyes and the ears of the communities that we serve — accessing public records is an integral part of the reporting process. Sometimes that reporting requires the assistance of the courts in sorting out contested public records cases.

I respectfully request that you support the public’s right to know by supporting the passage of Senate Bill 117.

Thank you.