Amendment ASA1-AB175

2001 - 2002 LEGISLATURE

ASSEMBLY SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 1, TO 2001 ASSEMBLY BILL 175

April 3, 2001 - Offered by Representative Powers.

AB175-ASA1,1,3 An Act to create 19.32 (1bg), (1dm) (2g) and (4), 19.356 and 40.07 (4) of the statutes; relating to: access to public employee personnel records and certain other public records containing personally identifiable information.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

AB175-ASA1, s. 1 Section 1. 19.32 (1bg), (1dm), (2g) and (4) of the statutes are created to read:

AB175-ASA1,1,7 19.32 (1bg) "Employee" means an individual who is employed by an authority, other than an individual holding a local public office or a state public office, or any individual who is employed by an employer other than an authority.

AB175-ASA1,1,8 (1dm) "Local public office" has the meaning given in s. 19.42 (7w).

AB175-ASA1,1,10 (2g) "Record subject" means an individual about whom personally identifiable information is contained in a record.

AB175-ASA1,1,12 (4) "State public office" has the meaning given in s. 19.42 (13), but does not include a position identified in s. 20.923 (6) (f) to (gm).

AB175-ASA1, s. 2 Section 2. 19.356 of the statutes is created to read:

AB175-ASA1,2,6 19.356 Notice to record subject; right of action. (1) Except as authorized in this section or as otherwise provided by statute, no authority is required to notify a record subject prior to providing to a requester access to a record containing information pertaining to that record subject, and no person is entitled to judicial review of the decision of an authority to provide a requester with access to a record.

AB175-ASA1,2,12 (2) (a) Except as provided in par. (b) and except as otherwise required by law, an authority shall, before permitting access and within 72 hours after making a decision to permit access to a record, notify any record subject to whom the record pertains, either by certified mail with return receipt signed by the addressee or by personally serving the notice on the record subject, if the record contains any of the following:

AB175-ASA1,2,16 1. Information concerning the authority's investigation into a disciplinary matter relating to an employee or a possible violation by an employee of a policy of the employee's employer, or of a statute, rule, regulation, or ordinance or in connection with the employee's employment.

AB175-ASA1,2,20 2. Information prepared or provided by an employer concerning the home address or telephone number, or the social security account number, of an employee of that employer, if the employee expressly requests that the authority not provide access to that information.

AB175-ASA1,3,2 3. Information relating to one or more employees that is used by the authority or by the employer of the employees for staff management planning or employee evaluation, including employee performance evaluations, judgments or recommendations concerning future salary adjustments or other employee wage treatments, management employee bonus plans, promotions, job assignments, letters of reference, or other comments or ratings relating to individual employees.

AB175-ASA1,3,4 4. Information pertaining to an employee's employment examination, except an examination score if access to that score is not otherwise prohibited.

AB175-ASA1,3,9 (b) Paragraph (a) does not apply to an authority who provides access to a record pertaining to an employee to the employee who is the subject of the record or to his or her representative to the extent required under s. 103.13 or to a collective bargaining representative to the extent required to fulfill a duty to bargain or pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement under ch. 111.

AB175-ASA1,3,11 (3) The notice under sub. (2) (a) shall briefly describe the requested record and include a description of the rights of the record subject under this section.

AB175-ASA1,3,14 (4) Within 5 days after receipt of a notice under sub. (2) (a), any record subject may provide written notification to the authority of his or her intent to seek a court order restraining the authority from providing access to the requested record.

AB175-ASA1,3,19 (5) Within 10 days after receipt of a notice under sub. (2) (a), any record subject may commence an action seeking a court order to restrain the authority from providing access to the requested record. If a record subject commences such an action, the record subject shall name the authority as a defendant. The record subject shall also join the requester as a party to the action under s. 803.03.

AB175-ASA1,4,4 (6) An authority shall not provide access to a requested record within 12 days of sending a notice pertaining to that record under sub. (2) (a). In addition, if the record subject commences an action under sub. (5), the authority shall not provide access to the requested record during pendency of the action. If the record subject appeals or petitions for review of a decision of the court or the time for appeal or petition for review of a decision adverse to the record subject has not expired, the authority shall not provide access to the requested record until any appeal is decided, until the period for appealing or petitioning for review expires, until a petition for review is denied, or until the authority receives written notice from the record subject that an appeal or petition for review will not be filed, whichever occurs first.

AB175-ASA1,4,9 (7) If the record subject demonstrates that the harm to his or her privacy or reputational interests caused by disclosure of the information contained in the requested record outweighs the public interest in disclosure of that information, the court shall restrain the authority from providing access to that record under s. 19.35 (1).

AB175-ASA1,4,15 (8) The court shall not grant any request by a requester to delay the proceedings. The court shall issue a decision within 10 days after the filing of the summons and complaint and proof of service of the summons and complaint upon the defendant and the requester, unless a party demonstrates cause for extension of this period. In any event, the court shall issue a decision within 30 days after those filings are complete.

AB175-ASA1,4,18 (9) If a party appeals a decision of the court under sub. (8), the court of appeals shall grant precedence to the appeal over all other matters not accorded similar precedence by law.

AB175-ASA1, s. 3 Section 3. 40.07 (4) of the statutes is created to read:

AB175-ASA1,4,21 40.07 (4) Section 19.356 does not apply to any request for information described in this section.

AB175-ASA1,4,22 (End)