(C) Wisconsin Watch This story was originally published by Wisconsin Watch and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Wisconsin bill would charge for police footage requests [1] [] Date: 2024-03-02 MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - Police footage, from body cameras to dash cameras, provides a record of exactly what happened. Senate Bill 789 is intended to address concerns from law enforcement about the cost and time of redacting footage requested through the open records law, but it would make it more expensive to see video from police. Proponents of this bill say it’s a financial burden on police departments to redact sensitive info from these videos. “The kind of understood average is per one hour of video, there’s an hour and a half of redaction time needed,” President of the Wisconsin Fraternal Order of Police, Ryan Windorff said. This bill would charge the requestor for that time used to process the video. “So if the person doing that function is making $40-$50 an hour that could very quickly add up to a good deal of money,” Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, said. Lueders says this bill has widespread impact for journalists and citizens alike. “This bill cuts against one of the most fundamental principles of our open records law that it shouldn’t matter who you are, or why you want public information,” Lueders said. “It’s your right to ask, it’s your right to receive.” The bill specifies the requested police video cannot be used for financial gain, raising questions about how this bill will impact journalists who use police footage in their reporting. WMTV 15 asked Sen. Jesse James, one of the bill’s authors, about the implications for the journalism industry. “I don’t have an answer for you,” James said, adding that he would ask the state’s legislative council for clarity. “We try to do our best to have the legislation 100% right, but that doesn’t always happen all the time, and there’s always some loophole or there’s an unintended consequence, and I guess I’ll have to get with the [legislative] counsel to see how ‘requestors’ are defined.” In a later email to WMTV 15, Sen. James wrote that requestors do include journalists. He also clarified that anyone can request a fee exemption for the first 10 videos requested from a specific agency. Gov. Evers has the option to sign or veto this bill. His office did not respond to multiple requests for comment about his position on the bill. Click here to download the WMTV15 News app or our WMTV15 First Alert weather app. Copyright 2024 WMTV. All rights reserved. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.wmtv15news.com/2024/03/02/wisconsin-bill-would-charge-police-footage-requests/ Published and (C) by Wisconsin Watch Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons BY-ND 4.0 Intl. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/wisconsinwatch/