WI Bill Would Charge Citizens for the Cost of Redacting Information in Records Requests

Nervy

While Wisconsin may have some of the strongest open record laws on the books, McCabe contends enforcement — from the state attorney general on down — is no longer a priority.

Now, an Assembly bill sponsored by several Republicans and a Democrat would amend state law to allow government entities to charge a fee for the work of cutting out confidential information from open records requests. Put another way, the government may charge a journalist, a watchdog group, a citizen more money for less information.

McCabe and an army of open records advocates see the bill an encumbrance to the free flow of government information. For McCabe and others concerned about the current state of transparency in local and state government, the bill is like salt in a wound.