Madison, WI – It is not the first time the Legislature has had records requests blocked by the Evers administration. The difference this time, is that Rep. Steffen is committed to taking the Department of Corrections to court if they fail to immediately respond regarding their convict vaccination program.
“This continued, closed-door administration is illegally blocking the release of public documents. The residents, the law, and our democracy require access to this information, and I’m going to fight for it,” said Rep. David Steffen (R-Howard).
A formal Open Records Request submitted last month by Rep. Steffen regarding Governor Evers’ decision to provide COVID-19 vaccines to prisoners ahead of law abiding citizens remains unfulfilled. Representative Steffen is seeking details regarding the dates, locations, and vaccinations that are scheduled and have occurred regarding this vaccination program, which precedes the vaccine available to the general public.
“The public has a right to know this information. And, by law, they were supposed to provide it” said Steffen.
This is not Rep. Steffen’s first run in with the Evers administration regarding the release of documents. Last year, two days before filing a similar the lawsuit against DOC, the Evers administration finally released the documents to his office.
