Your Right to Know | Freedom of Information Council

Your Right to Know: End Wisconsin’s secretive ‘pocket veto’

Apr. 3, 2023

Members of the state legislature's powerful budget committee often impede projects or programs they don't like by sidestepping state law in order to exercise a secretive "pocket veto," Wisconsin Watch recently revealed.

In his 2023-25 budget, Gov. Tony Evers is proposing to do away with this process when it comes to conservation and recreational projects paid for by stewardship funds. But GOP lawmakers have already vowed to rip up the document and start over, leaving little chance the Legislature will adopt Evers’ idea, Dee J. Hall writes in the most recent "Your Right to Know" column from the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council.

‘Opees’ honor and chastise

Mar. 8, 2023

For the 17th consecutive year, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council has named its annual Openness in Government Awards, or Opees, in honor of national Sunshine Week, March 12-18. Five winners and one loser were selected from among an uncommonly large number of nominations.

Honorees include a group of residents concerned about the impact of a local park redevelopment, a school board member who blew the whistle on his colleagues for being too secretive, and a longtime city official who has made a habit of accessibility.

Public still paying for fraud probe records fight

Feb. 1, 2023

Many people in Wisconsin are under the impression that the disastrous probe into the state’s 2020 presidential election conducted by former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman is over, as are its costs to taxpayers. They’re wrong, writes Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council President Bill Lueders in the group's most recent "Your Right to Know" column.

The amount paid by taxpayers now stands at more than $2 million, including nearly $1.5 million in legal fees, according to a report by WisPolitics.com.

Your Right to Know: Here’s to a more transparent 2023

Jan. 3, 2023

There's plenty of room for Wisconsin officials to be more transparent in 2023, writes Christa Westerberg, attorney and vice president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council in its most recent "Your Right to Know" column.

In the column — available for republication, Westerberg gives three specific suggestions for improving government transparency.

Prehn records fight seeks accountability

Dec. 1, 2022

Dr. Frederick Prehn — who continues to occupy a seat on the Natural Resources Board more than a year and a half after the expiration of his term — recently failed to turn over dozens of text messages related to his refusal to step down, writes attorney Adam Voskuil in December's "Your Right to Know" column from the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council.

In his column, Voskuil, who works for the public interest firm Midwest Environmental Advocates, calls for the judge to send a strong message that officials who violate the open records law when he issues a final ruling in the case.

Your Right to Know: Don’t pay too much for that photocopy

Nov. 1, 2022

How much does it cost to copy one piece of paper? Many records custodians in Wisconsin charge 25 cents — a price that likely goes back to 2018 guidance from the attorney general that anything in excess of 25 cents may be suspect. But state law says custodians can only charge the “actual, necessary and direct cost of reproduction.”

In the most recent installment of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council's Your Right to Know column, council member Tom Kamenick, provides an overview of the law surrounding the cost of hard-copy public records and encourages requesters to push back the next time a custodian tries to charge them 25 cents per copy.

Your Right to Know: AG candidates weigh in on transparency

Oct. 4, 2022

Josh Kaul and Eric Toney are miles apart on many issues, but when it comes to open government, the candidates vying for Wisconsin attorney general

Your Right to Know: Outsiders can’t block records access

Sep. 1, 2022

Wisconsin’s open records law is most often used by requesters seeking to obtain records from a government agency. But occasionally it works in reverse, allowing someone to block the release of records to a requester, writes Christa Westerberg, a partner at the Pines Bach law firm in Madison and vice president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, in the group's latest "Your Right to Know" column.

Court ruling kneecaps records law

Aug. 2, 2022

For four decades, courts have held that plaintiffs in open records lawsuits are entitled to costs and legal fees — whether they win the case or "voluntarily" turn over the records after being sued.

But last month, the Wisconsin Supreme Court upended the latter path to recovery — a move that open government advocates worry will be a blow to transparency. In the most recent "Your Right to Know" column from the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, Wisconsin Transparency Project president Tom Kamenick looks to what might be next in the case.

When transparency is treated with contempt

Jul. 7, 2022

Most of the time, public officials in Wisconsin obey the state’s openness laws. Sometimes, they need a little prodding from the courts. But the recent conduct of Robin Vos and Michael Gableman is something altogether new, and deeply disturbing.