Giles Goat Boy has posted a few diaries showing peaceful members of the public being forcefully removed from the Wisconsin Assembly for wearing excerpts of the State Statute on their clothing and using video cameras. I am not an attorney but I work with attorneys and regulations every day. I won't bother delving into violations of the First Amendment for the sign wearing, but I want to document for everyone following these excellent diaries just why the actions of the Republican members of the Wisconsin Assembly and Capitol Police are illegal under Wisconsin Law. It is not as cut and dry as reading one section of the Wisconsin Statute.
The Wisconsin Open Meetings Law dates back to 1977 and is contained in the Wisconsin Statute § 19.90:
Whenever a governmental body holds a meeting in open session, the body shall make a reasonable effort to accommodate any person desiring to record, film or photograph the meeting. This section does not permit recording, filming or photographing such a meeting in a manner that interferes with the conduct of the meeting or the rights of the participants.
This Open Meetings Law applies to the Wisconsin Assembly according to § 19.87 (Note that Subchapter V includes § 19.81 through 19.98):
This subchapter shall apply to all meetings of the senate and assembly and the committees, subcommittees and other subunits thereof...
Under § 19.87(2) the Assembly is allowed to promulgate rules that limit the Open Meetings Law for the Assembly:
No provision of this subchapter which conflicts with a rule of the senate or assembly or joint rule of the legislature shall apply to a meeting conducted in compliance with such rule.
However, the Assembly Rule being cited by Republicans on the floor does not prohibit the use of cameras by the public. It prohibits the use of a microphone DESIGNED to pick up a conversation more than 10 feet away, in accordance with Assembly Rule 26(7):
(7) A person, other than a person specified in rule 25 (3), may not possess or use in the assembly chamber a microphone designed to pick up conversation more than 10 feet away from the microphone.
In order to be thorough, Assembly Rule 25(3) reads:
(3) Representatives of news media that regularly publish or broadcast reports available to the general public who are actively engaged in reporting the proceedings of the assembly, except that during the sessions of the assembly the privilege extends only to the designated press area.
So the rule does not prohibit filming the Assembly in session, only microphones that are designed to pick up noise more than 10 feet away unless the microphone is used by a representative of the news media. I believe the intent of the rule is to prohibit people from picking up sidebar conversations within the Assembly, not the person speaking into a microphone on the Assembly Floor. Even if the microphone picks up a conversation 10 feet away, if it is not designed for that purpose it is not prohibited by the rule.
Given the language of the Statute and Assembly Rule it would seem that the Capitol Police would have to determine that the video camera microphone is designed to pick up conversations more than 10 feet away (outside of the person speaking into the microphone on the floor of the Assembly). Observing the video of the incidents posted online it is obvious that neither the Capitol Police or the Republican Assembly members are making any distinction and have mischaracterized the Assembly Rule to apply to all recording devices being used by the public.
If the rule is not being violated than the Open Meetings Law is still in effect and the Republican Assembly members and the Capitol Police are violating Wisconsin Law, specifically Wisconsin Statute § 19.90, which by law applies to the Assembly.
