Wisconsin Senate backs transparency: Newspapers urge Assembly to follow suit

Please join the newspapers of Wisconsin in thanking the Wisconsin State Senate for supporting transparency in government.

On May 15, the Senate approved Senate Bill 194 without opposition, paving the way for the Assembly to consider this important piece of legislation.

SB 194 allows for the awarding of attorneys’ fees and costs in Wisconsin Open Records Law cases if the threat of a lawsuit was a significant factor in obtaining the records.

Sponsored by Senator Van Wanggaard (R-Racine) and Representative Todd Novak (R-Dodgeville), SB 194 will go a long way toward ensuring transparency in government in Wisconsin.

The bill is necessary after a 2022 Supreme Court opinion, Friends of Frame Park, U.A. v. City of Waukesha, held that if a governmental entity releases records after a suit has been filed and before a court acted on the case, the requester is not entitled to seek attorney’s fees.

The court based its decision on a narrow interpretation of the word “prevail” in the existing public records statute. The court ruled a judge must affirmatively order a unit of government to turn over public records for a requester to “prevail” and, therefore, be eligible to seek reimbursement for legal fees.

That narrow interpretation of what it means to prevail allows governmental bodies to hold onto public records until a requester files a lawsuit knowing they face no penalty if they turn over the records before a judge even has an opportunity to act.

Pursuing access to public records can require litigation and litigation can be expensive. The denial of the payment of attorney’s fees in cases where the requestor prevails prior to the case being fully litigated is having a chilling effect on the media and the public’s ability to pursue public documents.

SB 194 is one step closer to becoming state law, but we need your help!

We hope you will contact your State Representatives and request that they act quickly to take SB 194 up in the Assembly. Final passage requires the approval of the Assembly if it is to make its way to the desk of Gov. Tony Evers for his signature.

Newspapers believe in open government, and we hope that you, our readers, do too! SB 194 will go a long way toward ensuring that government in Wisconsin remains open and transparent.

Don’t wait, call your State Representative today! And, while you’re at it, please thank Senator Wanggaard and Representative Novak for championing the cause of open government.

Senate bill sponsors to date include: Wanggaard, Feyen, Kapenga, Quinn, Roys, Spreitzer, Stafsholt, Nass and Tomczyk;

Assembly bill sponsors to date include: Novak, Swearingen, Anderson, Armstrong, Behnke, Franklin, Goeben, Gundrum, Kitchens, Knodl, Murphy, Mursau, Nedweski, O’Connor, Rodriguez, Steffen, Tittl, Tranel, Tusler, Wichgers, Wittke and Allen.