(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Senate approved a measure that will require public agencies that release public records only when they are sued to pay for attorney’s fees and court costs for the filing.
Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, sponsored Senate Bill 194 in an attempt to encourage public entities to follow open records law and release records in a timely manner.
“Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski had to settle a court case for records,” Wanggaard said in a statement. “Superintendent Jill Underly withheld records for 8 months and was threatened with a lawsuit before complying with a request. The Madison School District has been sued repeatedly for failing to respond to open records requests. Everyone, regardless of party, should agree that these actions were wrong.”
Current law allows the records requester to receive court costs and attorney’s fees if they prevail in a lawsuit, but entities that release the records before a court order is issued are not subject to paying the fees.
The bill would change that, allowing the requester to receive fees once a lawsuit is filed and the records are then released.
Van Wanggaard said he believes there has been an increase in officials not complying with open records law since the 2022 Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling requiring a court order before the fees must be paid for not disclosing public records.
