Wisconsin AG embraces open government, says editorial

A recent editorial praises Wisconsin for its open government–in particular, the attitude of of Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen.

The author of the piece notes that the Attorney General Van Hollen has actively worked to improve citizen access to and understanding of public records and public meetings.

He has the right attitude towards open government, too, writing “A citizen’s access to public records and meetings of governmental bodies is a vital aspect of this principle [of 'government of the people, by the people, for the people…'].” The Department of Justice website hosts a video of the DOJ’s 2009 public records seminar, and the DOJ is offering a series of free seminars and video conferences to promote public awareness of and compliance with Wisconsin’s open meetings and public records laws. (These can be found here.)

According to Sunshine Review, the state of Wisconsin does extremely well on the material it discloses online. We give Wisconsin’s website an “A+” transparency grade, which means it posts all of the items we recommend on our 10 point transparency checklist. At the local level, however, Wisconsin counties only get a “D” transparency grade average.

What are your experiences with transparency in Wisconsin?

WI Supreme Court rules personal e-mails will remain private

Today, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled on Schill v. Wisconsin Rapids School District, saying personal e-mails of public employees will remain private. The ruling followed several other states rulings, who also favored public employee privacy.

¶8 Several other states have already addressed this issue. Each has concluded that the contents of government employees’ personal e-mails are not information about the affairs of government and are therefore not open to the public under their respective open records acts. We know of no state that has reached the conclusion that the contents of such personal e-mails should be released to members of the public.

¶9 For the reasons set forth, we too now conclude that while government business is to be kept open, the contents of employees’ personal e-mails are not a part of government business. Personal e-mails are therefore not always records within the meaning of Wis. Stat. § 19.32(2) simply because they are sent and received on government e-mail and computer systems.

Schill started in April 2007 when private citizen Don Bubolz decided he wanted access to non-work emails of five teachers in Wisconsin Rapids School District during a period in 2007. He requested all emails sent from the computers of those teachers. The Wisconsin Rapids School District concluded that the emails constituted public records because they were maintained on a public computer network. The teachers sought to block the release of their personal emails. The circuit court denied the injunction and ordered the district to release all of the personal and work-related emails. Read the full background here.

See the full court ruling.

WI Supreme court to determine if public employees’ personal emails fall under public records law

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will consider on Friday whether personal emails of public employees that are maintained on publicly-owned computers are subject to disclosure under the public records law in Schill v. Wisconsin Rapids School District.

Schill started in April 2007 when private citizen Don Bubolz decided he wanted access to non-work emails of five teachers in Wisconsin Rapids School District during a period in 2007. He requested all emails sent from the computers of those teachers.

The district’s computer use policy allowed its teachers and other employees to use the district’s email for occasional personal use. District employees were advised that the district owns not only the computers, but the email accounts used by the employees.

The Wisconsin Rapids School District concluded that the emails constituted public records because they were maintained on a public computer network. The teachers sought to block the release of their personal emails. The circuit court denied the injunction and ordered the district to release all of the personal and work-related emails.

The Supreme Court will decide whether the personal emails are “records” under the public records law. There is apparently no published case in Wisconsin that addresses whether purely personal emails kept on a public computers constitute public records under the statute.

If the emails are found to fall under the public records law, the Supreme Court will have to decide whether the presumption of disclosure will outweigh the public interest in protecting privacy, a balance that can be hard to strike.

Wisconsin senator wants transparency website

Wisconsin leaders are on the path to providing more transparency. Senator Mary Lazich recently wrote an op ed lamenting the fact that Wisconsin does not have a transparency website.

The senator notes that the private sector is able to give consumers information at the touch of a button. Governments should be able to do the same.

Lazich notes three critical benefits that transparency websites offer:

*Online databases can pinpoint corruption,
*Transparency efforts boost citizen confidence in government, and
*Open government encourages fiscal responsibility.

And transparency websites come in at a fair price. Government transparency websites range from costs of several thousand dollars to $1 million. In return, states can save millions. Texas, for example, has reported $4.8 million saved thanks to the state’s transparency portal.

The senator also touches on two points we at Sunshine Review think are key to transparency website. First, she notes that “Design is critical,” which it is. (The idea of making websites that are clear and intuitive is called “usability.”) If you think about it, a transparency website with a confusing design that prevents you from finding information may as well not have any information.

She also thinks that local governments, cities, counties, and school districts, should also be concerned about how they disclose information online. Lazich doesn’t think that transparency is merely a state issue. Every level of government should be communicating with its citizens through information disclosure.

There is one important thing worth noting: Wisconsin isn’t that bad. Here’s the inspiration behind the senator’s commitment to transparency:

Since Wisconsin is one of 14 states that fail to have a transparency website, the U.S. PIRG April 2010 report gives Wisconsin an F grade in providing online access to government spending data.

The U.S. PIRG ratings are on all of our state website ratings. How does its rating of “F” compare to Sunshine Review’s assessment of Wisconsin’s state website? We give Wisconsin an “A.” Wisconsin does not currently have a transparency portal, but it does a decent job of disclosing key information. While a better, more encompassing transparency website would do wonders for Wisconsin, as the senator notes, it is still important to acknowledge when a state does a decent job of being transparent to its citizens.

Wisconsin “Shield Law” for reporters up for a vote tomorrow

More than the average citizen, journalists have the tools at their disposal and the motivation to thoroughly scrutinize the goings on in City Hall. Which is why it is a key issue to allow them to maintain the full use of these tools in accomplishing their journalistic duties.

Recognizing this, legislators in Wisconsin have proposed a law to protect reporters.
The bill is called the “Whistleblower Protection Act” and was drafted in consultation with the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association and the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council. (The Wisconsin Newspaper Association had been urging the passing of such a “shield law” for 20 years.) The bill goes up for a vote in the Wisconsin senate tomorrow.

Under the bill, judges could order reporters to produce information regarding a source’s identity only when it is “highly relevant” to the case. Attorneys would have to show they couldn’t get the information any other way and there was an overriding public interest in disclosing it. It also prohibits forcing the confidential source to testify in order to discover the identity of that person. Wisconsin already has court rulings offering some protections for reporters, but no state law.

Supporters of the bill argue that court precedent helps reporters, but it is not as strong as a law with clear guidance for judges. Supporters of the bill include Governor Jim Doyle, a former three-term attorney general, and the president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, who noted that journalists benefit form the bill, but the public benefits even more. “A lot of very important stories begin with tips from people who require confidentiality,” he stated.

The Wisconsin State Bar Association’s litigation section is on record against the bill, however, saying it would make it too difficult for parties in lawsuits to obtain non-confidential information from news organizations.

Most states already have Shield Laws. While there is no explicit federal protection, federal courts tend to find that journalists can keep private the names of their confidential sources. Kansas became the 38th to enact one last week. Should Wisconsin’s bill pass, it would take effect three months after being signed into law by the governor. If the bill passes, Wisconsin would become the 39th state to enact a law protecting journalists and their confidential sources.

Land of the cheese, home of the brave

This past weekend I had the opportunity to meet some of the awesome Wisconsin blogging community at SamSphere Milwaukee, which was co-hosted by Americans For Prosperity-Wisconsin. SamSphere is a project of the Sam Adams Alliance, which seeks to recruit, train, and connect free-market bloggers in hopes they will work together to enact local change. Some of this change occurs through highlighting corruption or a lack of transparency.

Check out some local bloggers with a history of shedding some light on government actions:
Wigderson Library & Pub
No Runny Eggs
Badger Blogger Alliance
Badger Blogger
Wake Up America
Conservative Young Professionals of Milwaukee
Washburn’s World

There are many others… if you know of some good ones, list ‘em in comments. Thanks to everyone that participated and helped with SamSphere- can’t wait to come back up!