Senate Drops Open Records Changes As Walker’s Office Verifies It Helped Craft Plan

The Wisconsin Senate has voted unanimously to delete several budget provisions that would have gutted Wisconsin’s open records law, a move that comes on the same day that it was learned that Gov. Scott Walker’s office staff helped write the changes.

In an interview with the Capital Times and WISC-TV, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said he was in the room when the open records changes were drafted, as was the governor’s staff. The governor’s office issued a statement afterward confirming what Fitzgerald said, saying Walker’s staff provided input.

During comments on the Senate floor, Fitzgerald said he still thought the open records law needed to be updated.

“I still believe that this is an issue that needs to be visited,” he said.

The Senate nevertheless voted 32-0 to remove the changes from the budget. Middleton Democrat Jon Erpenbach said they never should have been put there to begin with.

“I’m glad it’s coming out, but no posing for holy pictures on this. Because it’s not deserved,” he said.

The vote comes less than a week after all 12 Republicans on the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee voted to add the open records changes to the budget.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally an Associated Press story. It has since been replaced with reporting by Wisconsin Public Radio.