Records fees mean records denials
Feb. 4, 2020
Public officials’ unreasonable and undocumented charges for open records requests don’t promote complete public access. They obstruct it.
Public officials’ unreasonable and undocumented charges for open records requests don’t promote complete public access. They obstruct it.
Information about clean drinking water and clean air is of fundamental importance to the public. We hope policymakers resolve in 2020 to bring additional transparency to matters of public health.
In Wisconsin, no records request may be refused because the person making the request is unwilling to be identified or to state the purpose of the request.
Too many people are unaware of their rights under the records and meetings laws. That enables officials to put unnecessary roadblocks in their way.
A governor “committed to openness and transparency” should not be ending initiatives that improve compliance. Gov. Evers, the ball’s in your court.
Now barred from charging print copy fees for emails, it appears some lawmakers are finding new ways to impose significant search fees on records requests.
As Justice Shirley Abrahamson ends her tenure on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, she leaves a rich legacy of legal scholarship, importantly including her support for government transparency.
An open records lawsuit filed by the Center for Media and Democracy helped ensure Wisconsin’s open records law applies to all requests, big or small.
Shielding the names of winners would make it hard for the public and the media to figure out whether the lottery is on the up-and-up — or whether we are being bamboozled.
The proposed body cam bill was approved by nine of 10 committee members and received unanimous support from the bipartisan Joint Legislative Council.
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