Wisconsin legislative clerks agree to release names of staffers
By The Associated Press
05.08.02
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MADISON, Wis. — The Legislature's chief clerks agreed yesterday to release the names of state employees who have had their legal bills paid by taxpayers in an investigation into illegal campaign activities, ending a five-month court battle.
The clerks issued a joint statement late yesterday that they directed their attorneys to withdraw a motion filed earlier in the day to stay a judge's decision ordering them to release the names.
Senate Chief Clerk Don Schneider and Assembly Assistant Chief Clerk Pat Fuller said they will release the names May 10 after deciding that Dane County Circuit Judge Sarah O'Brien made it clear in her order that doing so would not compromise the investigation.
Schneider was out of town yesterday and unavailable for comment. Fuller did not return repeated phone calls from the Associated Press.
"This is good news for the taxpayers," said Sen. Robert Cowles, R-Green Bay. "The taxpayers deserve to know how their money is being spent."
Wisconsin taxpayers have paid more than $518,000 in legal fees for legislative employees involved in the secret investigation being conducted by district attorneys in Dane and Milwaukee counties into the partisan legislative caucuses.
Until now, the chief clerks have refused to detail whose bills have been paid. In the motion filed yesterday, their lawyers claimed keeping the names private was necessary to protect the integrity of the investigation.
But O'Brien wrote in her ruling last week that releasing the names was in the public's interest and it would have no impact on the probe.
The Wisconsin State Journal first reported last year the allegations that employees of the partisan legislative caucuses were campaigning on state time, sometimes from their legislative offices.
The caucuses — one for each party in each house — were abolished last fall. Three newspapers — The Capital Times, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Wisconsin State Journal — then sought a court order requiring the clerks to comply with the state's Open Records Law and release the names of the state employees getting their legal bills paid by taxpayers.
Attorney Robert Dreps, who represents the newspapers, said the clerks agreed to release the names in exchange for the papers dropping their claim for punitive damages. The clerks will also pay the papers' attorney fees as part of the deal.
Dreps said the clerks decided to postpone releasing the records until May 10 because Schneider is out of town and they needed time to compile them.
"We continue to think that the clerks were arbitrary in their initial denials, but pursuing that argument would mean further delay in public access and further expense to the taxpayers, so we're happy with this result," Dreps said.
Cowles joined Sen. Michael Ellis, R-Neenah, and Common Cause in Wisconsin executive director Jay Heck at a news conference yesterday urging the clerks to drop their opposition to releasing the names.
Cowles said the investigation has already devoured too much state money, especially considering the state is facing a $1.1 billion budget shortfall. He said getting the clerks to release the names was the first step. The next is to cut off the payments, which he and other state officials believe are illegal.
Previous
State attorney general urges legislative clerks to release names
Wisconsin officials have refused to identify employees whose legal bills are being paid by taxpayers despite court order to do so.
05.07.02
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