Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin passed a budget bill on Thursday that included a measure which would overhaul the state’s open records laws. The measure which passed on a straight party line vote would all but end transparency in Wisconsin government, giving lawmakers enough secrecy to engage in limitless activity without public oversight from the people they are supposed to represent.
Democrats as well as non-partisan watch dog groups railed against the measure, noting that it would undermine democracy and open the doors wider for public officials to engage in corruption. Bill Lueders, President of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council called the action a shocking assault on open government. He decried the legislature’s decision in a statement that read, in part:
The committee’s cowardly action, which passed on a 12-4 party line vote with Republicans in the majority, was part of an omnibus motion stuck into the state budget. It will effectively end the Legislature’s need to comply with the state’s Open Records Law.
The changes exempt legislative communications from the law; shield from release all “deliberative materials” created for the purpose of making law or public policy (including opinions, analyses and briefings prepared at public expense); shut down public access to all records created in the process of drafting legislation; and specify that the Legislature can freely exempt any record from disclosure simply by passing a rule or policy.
These radical and sweeping changes represent a full-frontal attack on Wisconsin’s history of open government. They are clearly intended to block the public from discovering what factors drive the official actions of government, especially the Legislature, and will inevitably lead to abuse, malfeasance and corruption.
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Lueders also noted that the open records law has exposed past abuses committed by lawmakers, including one case where Rep. Joel Kleefisch, (R-Oconomowoc) wrote a bill that would reduce the child support payment obligations for one of his wealthy donors.
Republican lawmakers are up to no good in Wisconsin, so it makes sense that they want to conduct their legislative malfeasance under the cover of darkness. However, in a democracy, elected officials are supposed to be accountable to the people they represent. The Wisconsin Republican Party has no interest in being held accountable for their actions. Voters should remove every last one of them from office, at the first opportunity.
Authors’ Update: According to The Washington Post on July 4th, “in a sudden reversal, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and GOP legislative leaders said they agreed Saturday to remove a part of the proposed state budget that would have severely rolled back open records laws.”
Thank you citizens, watch dog groups, and journalists for holding the Republicans’ feet to the fire and forcing them to backtrack!
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