Wisconsin Public Records Laws

The right to inspect and reproduce public documents in decentralized offices is being reviewed. 61 Atty. Gen 12. – (em) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, if an authority receives a request for inspection or reproduction of a handwritten recording or a recording in the form of a voice recording which it must retain or delete information from in accordance with § 19.36, paragraph 8(b), because the handwriting or recorded voice would identify an informant, The Authority shall, on request, provide the applicant with a copy of the data set or information contained therein if the fixation or information is otherwise inspected and reproduced in accordance with this Subsection. The review of a decision is a formal act of an administrative or subsidiary body. If properly taken in camera, the decision and the result of the vote must be made available for public inspection, unless it is expressly demonstrated that the public interest would be harmed. 60 Atty. Gen. 9. The Wisconsin Open Records Law, first enacted in 1982, is a set of laws designed to ensure that the public has access to the public records of government agencies at all levels.

Wisconsin defines records as any record, regardless of physical form, created or maintained by a government agency. A depositary shall not require an applicant to bear the cost of spontaneous certification. Unless the fee for copies of documents is fixed by law, a custodian may not charge more than the actual and direct costs of reproduction. 72 atty. Gen. 36. General Appendices to Documents (GRS) are a set of similar document disposition authorities. These schedules ensure consistency in the management, retention and disposal of records across all government entities. The Public Records Board is responsible for the maintenance, modification and renewal of all GIS. Because public libraries are government entities and are therefore responsible for preserving the public records they hold, all public libraries must have an established records retention schedule. The Wisconsin Public Records Board has approved a general schedule of materials written specifically for Wisconsin`s public libraries and public library systems. The General Schedule of Records (FIS) sets out the deadline for the disposal of records that are no longer required for administrative, financial or legal purposes.

The adoption of this calendar allows a public library to dispose of certain materials without prior approval from the Wisconsin Historical Society. This section explains the common law rule that public records are accessible to the public subject to common law restrictions. Section 59.14 [now subsection 59.20(3)] is a statutory declaration that grants persons within its jurisdiction an absolute right of inspection subject only to the appropriate by-laws. Bilder v. Stadt Delavan, 112 Wis. 2d 539, 334 N.W. 2d 252 (1983). Public access to law enforcement records. Fitzgerald. 68 MLR 705 (1985). 2.

The Chairman of a Committee of Elected Members of the Bureau or his representative shall be the legal custodian of the Committee`s records. (d) where a document of an authority is occasionally moved to a place other than that where the documents of the authority are regularly kept and the document can be consulted at the place where the documents of the authority are regularly kept after a period of one working day, the authority or the legal custodian of the documents is not required to grant access to the documents at the occasional place. 8. No elected representative of a legislative body shall act or designate the legal depositary referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article for the records of a committee of the institution, unless he is the chief or senior official of the committee or is designated by law as the legal depository of the acts of the committee. 6. The courts may, in proceedings initiated pursuant to paragraph 4, prohibit the Authority from having access to the requested documents. In making its decision, the court applies the principles of the substantive common law that interpret the right to inspect, copy or obtain copies of documents. Actions under the Open Meeting and Public Records Acts are exempt from the termination provisions of section 893.80. (1).

Auchinleck v. Town of LaGrange, 200 W (2d) 585, 547 NW (2d) 587 (1996), 94-2809. Exempt: Certain investigative documents, computer programs and trade secrets; Public library lending materials are confidential. In its legislative findings and policy statement, the Wisconsin legislature recognizes the importance of free access to knowledge, information, and diversity of ideas for all residents of that state. the crucial role played by public, school, specialist and university libraries in providing such access; the most important educational, cultural and economic asset represented in the collective knowledge and information resources of State libraries; the importance of public libraries in the democratic process; and that the most efficient use of library resources in this state can only be achieved through collaboration between all types of libraries and the effective use of technology. Sheriff`s radio records, ministry records kept by the sheriff, and blood test records of motorists who died in the hands of the sheriff are public and restricted records. 67 Atty. Gen. 12.

Access to public documents obtained under official confidentiality undertakings may be refused if: (1) a clear undertaking has been made to obtain the information; (2) the pledge was necessary to obtain the information; and (3) the trustee determines that the harm to the public interest caused by the inspection would outweigh the public interest in unrestricted access to official records. The administrator must grant access to information submitted under a formal duty of confidentiality if the official or authority had specific legal authority to request its submission. 60 Gen 284 Public Library Boards are advised to adopt this Schedule by approving the Notice of Adoption form and submitting it to the Wisconsin Public Records Board. The Wisconsin Public Records Board meets quarterly, so approval may take some time.