‘Bill Mill’ group ALEC trying to skirt open records laws in Wisconsin
‘Bill Mill’ group ALEC trying to skirt open records laws in Wisconsin
By Laura Macomber, BillMoyers.com Contributor
Friday, June 14, 2013 20:31 EDT
Last week, The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) filed suit against Wisconsin State Senator Leah Vukmir for failing to release documents as required under the state’s public records law. CMD alleges that Sen. Vukmir possesses materials pertaining to her involvement with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the controversial organization of which she is a member. Sen. Vukmir has handed over ALEC-related documents in the past, but recently, reports CMD, the senator’s responses to records requests have “dried-up.”
ALEC may have something to do with that.
A little background for the uninitiated: ALEC calls itself a “nonpartisan” public-private partnership of state legislators and corporations, who gather regularly to produce what they term “model legislation” behind closed doors. The goal is for ALEC member legislators to get versions of those model bills passed in their statehouses.
Wisconsin’s state government has thick-roped ties to ALEC. Nearly one-third of its legislators are ALEC members, and versions of ALEC model bills have wended their way through many a legislative session. (Last week, I wrote about Wisconsin’s curiously high ranking in an ALEC “economic outlook” report.) But the state also has a comprehensive open records law, declaring that “all persons are entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those officers and employees who represent them.”
Sen. Vukmir’s ties to ALEC are particularly well-woven: in 2009, she was named ALEC’s “legislator of the year,” and she currently serves as the treasurer for ALEC’s national board of directors. CMD’s General Counsel Brendan Fischer says that Sen. Vukmir has released ALEC-related records following freedom-of-information requests in the past. But, writes Fischer, “in response to a requestfrom CMD, Sen. Vukmir claimed that she had no meeting agendas, model bills or other documents relating to ALEC’s most recent meeting, held in Oklahoma City May 2-3, which she attended.” It’s a claim CMD finds difficult to believe.
More:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/06/14/bill-mill-group-alec-trying-to-skirt-open-records-laws-in-wisconsin/