A.G. accuses two lawmakers of breaking open records lawby RYAN J. FOLEY
The state's attorney general sued two Republican lawmakers on Thursday, accusing them of hiding from the public the draft of a bill that would allow Wisconsin residents to carry concealed weapons.
The lawsuit accuses Sen. David Zien and Rep. Scott Gunderson of providing a copy of the bill to a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association while refusing a public records request for the draft from the Department of Justice.
Zien called the lawsuit "ludicrous and obscene." He and Gunderson plan to introduce the bill sometime this fall, reigniting a contentious battle over gun ownership and public safety.
"Wisconsin citizens have the right to know what legislation is being considered by the state Legislature - that's not a privilege reserved for the gun lobby," Democratic Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager said in a statement. She asked the court to order the lawmakers to turn over the draft.
Zien said the bill will be made public when it is introduced as early as next week. He acknowledged sharing drafts with an NRA lobbyist and two outside lawyers, but said he saw nothing wrong with seeking their expertise in writing the legislation.
"The NRA had some good ideas," he said.
Zien said Lautenschlager, who is opposed to the legislation, "is attacking the issue through attacking me, but she's really attacking the legislative process." Under Lautenschlager's interpretation of the law, "anything and everything we do would get debated and we'd get nothing done," he said.
Zien, of Eau Claire, and Gunderson, of Waterford, responded to Lautenschlager's request for the draft on Aug. 23 by saying they had to confer with legislative leaders and lawyers. In a letter to her, they said they "have a duty to protect the institutional integrity of the Legislature both for today and the future."
The lawsuit claims that their refusal to turn over the record deprives citizens and law enforcement agencies "of potentially important information regarding possible changes in state law and the ability to be heard in the legislative process."
Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle in 2003 vetoed a bill that would have allowed Wisconsin residents over 21 to apply for licenses to carry concealed guns and other weapons. The state Senate voted to override that veto, but the Assembly fell one vote short, allowing Doyle's action to stand.
Supporters, backed by the powerful NRA, say the measure will deter crime. Critics, including many law enforcement officials and gun control advocates, say the bill will put more guns on the streets and lead to more gun violence.
Wisconsin's open records law states that most government records should be considered public but provides an exception for documents that are considered drafts. Lautenschlager and open records advocates argue the documents lose their protected status when they are circulated to others, such as lobbyists or other department officials.
Lautenschlager made the same argument in 2003 after environmental groups complained that drafts related to legislation that would speed up the state's process for granting permits to businesses were shared with business lobbyists.
The head of the Legislative Reference Bureau, Steve Miller, told Lautenschlager at the time that the bill-drafting agency is required under state law to keep bill drafts confidential until a measure is introduced.
Zien said Lautenschlager's interpretation would force lawmakers who write ideas on table napkins to treat those as public records
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/12536822.htm*FW Note:But as legislators, aren't they above the law...?
