MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and GOP legislative leaders said they agreed Saturday to remove a part of the proposed state budget that would roll back open-records laws.
Walker announced the decision in a joint statement Saturday with Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and the co-chairmen of the Joint Budget Committee. They said that they're committed to open and accountable government.
"After substantive discussion over the last day, we have agreed that the provisions relating to any changes in the state's open records law will be removed from the budget in its entirety," the statement said. "... The intended policy goal of these changes was to provide a reasonable solution to protect constituents' privacy and to encourage a deliberative process between elected officials and their staff in developing policy. It was never intended to inhibit transparent government in any way."
The restrictions, which Republicans on the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee slipped into the proposed budget late Thursday, would shield nearly everything created by state and local government officials from Wisconsin's open-records law, including drafts of legislation and staff communications. The proposal drew heavy criticism from liberals and conservatives alike, and it was the subject of a withering front-page editorial in Saturday's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The furor had become a distraction for Walker as he prepares to formally announce his candidacy for the GOP presidential nomination July 13.
The joint statement said the Wisconsin Legislature will form a committee to study the issue and allow for public discussion and input outside of the budget process.
Walker didn't specifically say whether he and his office were involved in crafting the proposed changes, whether he objected to them in advance, or who proposed the overhaul. The joint statement didn't address those points either.
A Section on 07/05/2015