GOP proposal would remove limit on recovering attorneys fees in Wisconsin courts
People who sue to obtain public records could seek to have their attorneys fees reimbursed even if the documents are later turned over voluntarily, under a Republican proposal released Tuesday.
The plan is in response to a Wisconsin Supreme Court case last July that drew the ire of open records advocates. In that case, the court ruled 4-3 that a community group was not entitled to attorneys fees after suing the city of Waukesha for public records that the city later released before being ordered to do so by a court. The court’s four conservative justices approved the ruling, with its three liberal justices dissenting.
Governor Tony Evers speaks ahead of President Joe Biden in Deforest.
Previously, records custodians who voluntarily provided requested records after being sued could still have been required to pay attorneys fees if the lawsuit led to the release of the records. The Supreme Court’s decision, however, made it so those requesting public records could only recover attorneys fees if a court rules on the merits of a case. Voluntarily turning over records typically renders a case moot, meaning plaintiffs in such cases might not be able to recover attorneys fees from the government.
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In a policy brief issued soon after the ruling, the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty called on the Republican-led state Legislature to address gaps in Wisconsin’s open records law to ensure that government entities are held accountable if they withhold requested public records.
Now, a draft proposal from Rep. Todd Novak, R-Dodgeville, and Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Saukville, would allow courts to return to the methodology used before last year’s high court decision.
Under the proposal, judges would be able to award attorneys fees to somebody filing a lawsuit if the court determines that filing the case “was a substantial factor” leading to the records’ release, even if their release came without a court order.
“This legislation is critical to ensuring our public records law functions as intended when a government actor gets taken to court for failing to comply with the law,” Stroebel said about the draft bill, which was written with WILL.
A spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Greta Neubauer, D-Racine, did not respond to a request for comment about the proposal.
The bill is supported by WILL, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, Wisconsin Newspaper Association, Wisconsin Broadcasters Association, Wisconsin Transparency Project and Americans for Prosperity, according to a WILL statement.
Evers has called for a 10% tax cut for individuals earning $100,000 or less a year and married filers making $150,000 or less.
The governor’s budget proposal is all but certain to receive pushback from legislative Republicans, who have championed the need to implement a flat income tax in Wisconsin.
Evers on Tuesday also unveiled proposals to cut taxes, increase local government funding, spend more than $100 million to deal with PFAS contamination and support child care providers.
Around a third of students across Wisconsin feel sad and hopeless almost every day, according to the Office of Children’s Mental Health.
Wisconsin’s latest fiscal outlook projects the state will wrap up the current fiscal year with about half a billion dollars more than previous projections.
The two top options being discussed are adjusting the state’s income tax to benefit middle class earners or eliminating the current tax and creating a 3.25% flat tax.
Evers will unveil his formal budget request on Feb. 15. From there, the Republican-controlled budget committee will rewrite the document before sending it back to the governor.
Of the more than 4.2 million licensed drivers in Wisconsin, 770,000 had at least one OWI citation or conviction as of the end of 2021.
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