19.50(1)(1) Except as specifically authorized by law and except as provided in sub. (2), no investigator, prosecutor, employee of an investigator or prosecutor, or member or employee of the commission may disclose information related to an investigation or prosecution under ch. 11, subch. III of ch. 13, or this subchapter or any other law specified in s. 978.05 (1) or (2) or provide access to any record of the investigator, prosecutor, or the commission that is not subject to access under s. 19.55 (3) to any person other than an employee or agent of the prosecutor or investigator or a member, employee, or agent of the commission prior to presenting the information or record in a court of law.

19.50(2)(2) This section does not apply to any of the following communications made by an investigator, prosecutor, employee of an investigator or prosecutor, or member or employee of the commission:

19.50(2)(c)(c) Communications made to the attorney of an investigator, prosecutor, employee, or member of the commission or to a person or the attorney of a person who is investigated or prosecuted by the commission.

19.55(1)(1) Except as provided in subs. (2) to (4) and s. 19.36 (15), all records under ch. 11, this subchapter, or subch. III of ch. 13 in the possession of the commission are open to public inspection at all reasonable times. The commission shall require an individual wishing to examine a statement of economic interests or the list of persons who inspect any statements which are in the commission’s possession to provide his or her full name and address, and if the individual is representing another person, the full name and address of the person which he or she represents. Such identification may be provided in writing or in person. The commission shall record and retain for at least 3 years information obtained by it pursuant to this subsection. No individual may use a fictitious name or address or fail to identify a principal in making any request for inspection.

Effective date noteNOTE: Sub. (1) is shown as amended eff. 4-1-25 by 2023 Wis. Act 235. The cross-reference to s. 19.36 (15) was changed from s. 19.36 (14) by the legislative reference bureau under s. 13.92 (1) (bm) 2. to reflect the renumbering under s. 13.92 (1) (bm) 2. of s. 19.36 (14), as created by 2023 Wis. Act 235. Prior to 4-1-25 sub. (1) reads:

Effective date text(1) Except as provided in subs. (2) to (4), all records under ch. 11, this subchapter, or subch. III of ch. 13 in the possession of the commission are open to public inspection at all reasonable times. The commission shall require an individual wishing to examine a statement of economic interests or the list of persons who inspect any statements which are in the commission’s possession to provide his or her full name and address, and if the individual is representing another person, the full name and address of the person which he or she represents. Such identification may be provided in writing or in person. The commission shall record and retain for at least 3 years information obtained by it pursuant to this subsection. No individual may use a fictitious name or address or fail to identify a principal in making any request for inspection.

19.55(2)(2) The following records in the commission’s possession are not open for public inspection:

19.55(2)(c)(c) Statements of economic interests and reports of economic transactions which are filed with the commission by members or employees of the investment board, except that the commission shall refer statements and reports filed by such individuals to the legislative audit bureau for its review, and except that a statement of economic interests filed by a member or employee of the investment board who is also an official required to file shall be open to public inspection.

19.55(2)(cm)(cm) If a judicial officer, as defined in s. 757.07 (1) (e), submits a written request under s. 757.07 (4), the personal information, as defined in s. 757.07 (1) (g), of a judicial officer contained in statements of economic interests, reports of economic transactions, and campaign finance reports that are filed with the commission by judicial officers or the candidate committees of judicial officers. The commission shall quarterly review the electronic campaign finance information system for the personal information of judicial officers and remove such information from the system. In addition, before providing, upon a request, a statement of economic interests of a judicial officer, the commission shall remove the personal information of the judicial officer.

19.55(2)(d)(d) Records of the social security number of any individual who files an application for licensure as a lobbyist under s. 13.63 or who registers as a principal under s. 13.64, except to the department of children and families for purposes of administration of s. 49.22, to the department of revenue for purposes of administration of s. 73.0301, and to the department of workforce development for purposes of administration of s. 108.227.

19.55(2)(e)(e) Except as authorized in sub. (5), records created in the course of conducting an audit to identify a potential violation of this subchapter, subch. III of ch. 13, or ch. 11.

19.55(3)(3) Records obtained or prepared by the commission in connection with an investigation, including the full text of any complaint received by the commission, are not subject to the right of inspection and copying under s. 19.35 (1), except as follows:

19.55(3)(am)(am) The commission shall provide to the joint committee on finance records obtained or prepared by the commission in connection with an ongoing investigation when required under s. 19.49 (2q).

19.55(3)(bm)(bm) The commission shall provide investigatory records to the state auditor and the employees of the legislative audit bureau to the extent necessary for the bureau to carry out its duties under s. 13.94.

19.55(3)(c)(c) The commission shall provide information from investigation and hearing records that pertains to the location of individuals and assets of individuals as requested under s. 49.22 (2m) by the department of children and families or by a county child support agency under s. 59.53 (5).

19.55(3)(d)(d) If the commission commences a civil prosecution of a person for an alleged violation of ch. 11, subch. III of ch. 13, or this subchapter as the result of an investigation, the person who is the subject of the investigation may authorize the commission to make available for inspection and copying under s. 19.35 (1) records of the investigation pertaining to that person if the records are available by law to the subject person and the commission shall then make those records available.