State Assembly members will take up online public records legislation and other bills in committee Wednesday.
One of the more controversial bills involves the Consolidated Court Automation Programs, the online system for public records. The bill would restrict public access to some information online.
State Rep. Marlin Schneider, D-Wisconsin Rapids, a sponsor of the bill, said the legislation aims to protect people who are acquitted by the courts by excluding their charges from public view.
According to Schneider, though the CCAP shows acquittals in its reports, individuals with online records are sometimes discriminated against because ""people don't look any further than the first page.""
""There are literally thousands of people who are being hurt by CCAP [and] being discriminated against in jobs and housing. Many of them have done absolutely nothing wrong,"" Schneider said. ""This is for the benefit of people who have never been convicted.""
Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, said he disagrees. He said he thinks the new legislation is unnecessary because there are laws already in place protecting people from wrongful discrimination.
""I question why we have to remove public [information] as the only solution to keep people from breaking the law. Why don't we just enforce the law?"" Lueders said.
Another bill that will begin review in committee regulates higher education credentials.
According to bill co-author state Rep. John Townsend, R-Fond du Lac, there are various ""diploma mills"" in Wisconsin that issue phony degrees. The legislation would standardize rules for educational accreditation.
""Often times those [companies] offering that type of service are not accredited and are just really issuing those documents with very little or no academic background,"" Townsend said.
The bill would allow for prosecution of individuals who produce phony educational documents and those who knowingly use false documents for their own personal or financial profit.
""We want to encourage people to get a higher education, but we want to make sure that they are getting one that has substance and that is accredited,"" Townsend said.
