Police video cost increase, Wisconsin lawmakers approve bill
MILWAUKEE - Wisconsin lawmakers approved a bill that allows police departments to charge a new fee for the release of squad and body-worn camera video.
The fast-tracked legislation, which dropped just before Christmas, caught public information advocates off guard. It's now already on its way to Gov. Tony Evers; in the world of Madison politics, that is lightning fast.
If the governor signs the bill, public access to police video in Wisconsin could soon cost hundreds of dollars per request.
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"The public is already paying for these records," said Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council. "For there to be an additional cost is troubling."
The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council is sounding the alarm over the legislation, which drives up the cost for the public to obtain police video.
Wisconsin Senate bill approving increased charge for police video
"The news organizations in the state of Wisconsin, I think, have been blindsided by this," Lueders said.
"It moved really quickly," Alan Chavoya, with the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, said of the bill. "We’re taking steps backwards here instead of going forward."
The Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression spent two years pushing for a Milwaukee police policy that speeds up the release of body camera video. The bill in Madison passed in two months.
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"It’s information. It’s public. Why is it that the police, now we have to pay them even more to have access to this footage?" Chavoya said.
"It’s very important that investigators are allowed to do their investigation without any distractions," said State Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine).
Wanggaard co-sponsored the bill, which would allow police to charge for the time it takes to redact faces and other sensitive information from video at a rate equal to the lowest-paid employee capable of making the redactions. In Milwaukee, that's more than $40 per hour. It means an incident that takes 10 hours to review and redact could cost $400 to access.
"The consequence is there is limited transparency," said Chavoya. He worries it will discourage future requests.
"I think it might discourage some, but I think it might also cause them to maybe reduce what they’re asking for, so it’s specifically what they need, not just going on a fishing trip," said Wanggaard.
The bill that passed this week prohibits police from charging redaction fees to those directly involved in the incident, and it allows requesters to avoid a fee if they request fewer than 10 videos per year and certify in writing they will not use the video for financial gain. It's not yet clear if the financial gain provision would apply to news gathering.