I got to that video via my colleague Bonnie Shucha at WisBlawg, who writes:
Late last night, Wisconsin’s Joint Committee on Finance passed a motion (motion #999) to the Wisconsin state budget that would exempt “deliberative materials” like legislative drafting records and legislative briefings from Wisconsin’s open records laws....What an embarrassing law change! The vote in the committee was completely on party lines, so Republicans are marking themselves with this.
Drafting records are used frequently by lawyers, journalists, analysts, and by the public to gain insight into the process by which legislation is created, influenced, and passed. Restricting access to this information would fundamentally limit the ability to conduct legislative research in Wisconsin.
Speaking of tags — see previous post — this gets my "stupid party" tag (which is not reserved for one party or the other — it goes to any party that is stepping up to distinguish itself as The Stupid Party).
UPDATE: Republicans back down from this folly.
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24 comments:
No, no not a good idea. We need more information, not less. Strike this muthafucker down.
Great opportunity for Walker if he'll seize it.
"Great opportunity for Walker if he'll seize it."
It's such a great opportunity, that one might almost suspect it to be a devious plan to boost Walker. If it's a plan, though, it's still stupid, because why does the rest of the GOP want to associate itself with this fear of sunlight?
This seems just painfully stupid. And, so far, no one is taking credit for its introduction or defending it.
It is kinda fun though to see the salty tears of those who voted twice for the least transparent federal administration in history. One that erases hard drives, ignores subpoenas, and fights FOIA requests with a vigor that is never shown towards our enemies.
Most transparent federal administration in history, Beta Rube. Most transparent.
Repubs in favor of more gov regulation?
What is the Repubs rational?
What do they wish to hide?
Stupid, indeed!!!
Scott Walker, you know what to do!!!
"one might almost suspect it to be a devious plan to boost Walker"
I thought the same thing.
why does the rest of the GOP want to associate itself with this fear of sunlight?
Maybe because it appears to be working for Obama and Hillary?
Been a long time since I've made FOIA request at the Federal level, so anyone with recent experience feel free to tell me things have changed.
When we requested agency documents (FCC was the primary agency I was concerned with) all "deliberative" sections were redacted under the so-called (b)(5) exemption. We would receive the "factual" portion of the documents, however.
So it's not as if the Wisconsin legislature is off on a frolic to adopt a similar exception as found in the Federal FOIA.
In my personal opinion, there's gross misuse of (b)(5) at the Federal level and it's wrong for Wisconsin to adopt a similar exemption. But, different people may reach a different opinion.
"Although Walker initially denied any involvement, the Wisconsin State Journal and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other outlets used the state open records law to confirm that the governor’s office was behind the effort to rewrite the mission statement."
...will not be intimidated by public scrutiny.
so brave.
Er, it's not at all unusual that working papers are exempted from open records. Pretty common, actually.
Air is leaking from the Walker balloon.
But what about Obama and Hillary????????
The conservative Lakeland Times suggests recalling Albert Darling and John Nygren, and .....Scott Walker? Oh my.
http://www.lakelandtimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=10&SubSectionID=68&ArticleID=25113
I have made many FOIA requests to the federal government and various states. The government often will do whatever it can to prevent the disclosure of harmful or embarrassing information. Further, the cost for searching for docs and appealing a decision not to produce can be prohibitive.
The laws read a lot better than they work in practice.
"Republicans refuse to identify lawmaker behind measure restricting access to legislative records"
dang.
"Er, it's not at all unusual that working papers are exempted from open records. Pretty common, actually."
Yeah, I don't know how seriously to take this.
http://www.redstate.com/2015/06/30/scott-walker-new-thad-cochran/
Open Records Acts are already largely a joke. Government usually stalls, stonewalls, evades, and outright ignores FOI requests.
If you do not like what Government does with the power you have trusted them with, then take back the power.
A better idea than trying to divine legislative intent is would be a constitutional requirement that every law, ordinance and regulation have a preamble defining what the purpose and intent is along with a limiting principle, a sunset provision and cite where in the respective constitutions the authority is derived from. Imagine legislatures actually doing their jobs and bureaucrats and judges kept from wandering all over Hell's creation.
As for Walker, from what I read so far I like but this is a deal breaker for me as a primary voter if he doesn't veto this.
Could the reasoning behind this legislation be that progressive democrat party members use public information to harass, attack and intimidate their political opponents while protecting and defending their fellow travelers from the same kind of abuse and intimidation? Do democrat party members get raided in the middle of the night at the orders of republican district attorneys? Do democrat party members get their personal and financial records publicly leaked when they question the policies of republican public servants? Do democrat party members get their email histories "crowd-sourced" by national newspapers once they leave office? Do democrat part members get mobs of unruly paid protesters bussed into their neighborhoods and assembling on their front lawns to threaten them and their families for their political viewpoints?
"Air is leaking from the Walker balloon."
Yeah, let's elect Hillary and have an open administration.
Got it.
"Yeah, let's elect Hillary and have an open administration."
Walker already is being ground into cracker meal by the Bush/Rubio/Christie/Trump/Graham machine, otherwise known as, Jeb and His Fabulous Stalking Horses.
Hillary will not need to soil a glove on Scotty.
I have been predicting a Jeb vs. Hillary 2016 cage match since 2011, and see no reason to change now.
Please note: I have NOT predicted a winner.
"Walker already is being ground into cracker meal"
Do tell..
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