Group pursuing mystery of open records limit origin

Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, says his organization wants to know exactly who was behind last week’s move to gut the state’s Open Records law something he will aggressively pursue. Lueders says the measure, inserted in the state budget bill late at night just before the long Independence Day weekend, brought immediate, harsh, and nearly universal push back .

The item was approved by the 12 Republican members of the powerful Joint Finance Committee, over the protests of the committee’s four Democrats. Lueders says no one has said where the initiative for the proposal originated. Governor Walker has said the proposal will be discussed as a separate measure outside the budget bill.