Legal battles over accusations that state employees illegally campaigned on state time have cost the state nearly $100,000.
Last week, the Senate and Assembly chief clerks released records showing the state’s investigation into the caucus scandal and the fight to keep the names of those lawmakers and their aids secret have cost taxpayers $99,931.
The Capital Times and two other newspapers filed open-records lawsuits to have access to the names of those accused of campaigning on state time that were fought and lost by the state.
Supporters of the lawsuit argued that if the legal fees and advice are being paid for by the state, the names should be public record.
Of the money spent on open-records lawsuits, $59,368 was spent on legal bills of the two chief clerks, and an additional $40,563 was spent by the newspaper in the legal battle to make the lawyers’ bills public.
The state is required to pay the legal bills of the newspapers because it tried to illegally prevent the papers from printing editorial columns on the case.
The Legislature’s legal bills consist of $37,399 for the Assembly bills and $21,969 for the Senate. Lawmakers from both houses actively resisted having the bills made public.
Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, originally supported the state footing the bill for legal fees, but now says he does not believe taxpayers should have to pay for the legal fees of lawmakers and their staff members. He has called for the spending to end.
“The people of Wisconsin expect open government, and they will be outraged to learn how much of their tax money has been wasted defending government secrecy in the caucus scandal,” said Black. “It is long past time to stop this misuse of tax dollars, and it has to end now.”
The Assembly Organization Committee voted in December to hire lawyers with state money in order to contest the open-records suit.
Common Cause of Wisconsin has also filed a separate suit against the chief clerks to halt the payment of legal fees.
Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause, said that under state law, in a criminal investigation, legal fees of state employees should not be reimbursed unless the defendant is found not guilty.
“This is unconstitutional and not a proper use of public funds,” Heck said. “If you are a legislative employee and your legal bills are being paid for by the state, you may be less willing to talk about what went on for fear of paying for your own bills.”
Heck said Black is right to speak out against the state paying legal bills.
Black has requested that the Joint Legislative Committee on Legislative Organization meet to end the state spending, but no meeting has been scheduled.
The state has raked up $740,000 in legal fees for lawmakers and their staff members. Sen. Brian Burke, D-Milwaukee, is the only person charged in the investigation.
Burke is charged with 18 felony counts of using his public office to raise money for his campaign for attorney general.
