Bill
Bill > AB487
summary
Introduced
10/09/2025
10/09/2025
In Committee
01/15/2026
01/15/2026
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead
Introduced Session
Potential new amendment
2025-2026 Regular Session
Bill Summary
Under current law, a governmental body is generally required to meet in open session. Open session is a meeting that is held in a place reasonably accessible to members of the public and open to all citizens at all times. This bill allows the following entities to go into closed session for the purpose of considering information technology security issues affecting information technology systems over which the entities have jurisdiction or exercise responsibility: 1. The State of Wisconsin Investment Board. 2. The Ethics Commission. 3. The Elections Commission. 4. The Joint Committee on Information Policy and Technology. 5. The Joint Legislative Audit Committee. The bill also prohibits public access to records regarding information technology security issues considered in closed session, as provided under the bill, except that the bill allows the custodians of such records to submit the records to the Joint Committee on Information Policy and Technology and the Joint Legislative Audit Committee for consideration in closed session. The bill also requires the committees to periodically prepare and publish a summaries of information technology security issues considered by the committees in closed session. The committees must make sufficient alterations in the summaries to prevent disclosing confidential, proprietary, and other sensitive information.
AI Summary
This bill allows specific government entities in Wisconsin, including the State Investment Board, Ethics Commission, Elections Commission, Joint Committee on Information Policy and Technology, and Joint Legislative Audit Committee, to hold closed sessions to discuss information technology (IT) security issues. Currently, government bodies are generally required to meet in open sessions that are accessible to the public, but this bill creates an exception for sensitive IT security matters. The bill prohibits public access to records about these IT security discussions, though the committees can share these records with each other in closed sessions. Additionally, the bill requires these committees to periodically publish summaries of the IT security issues they discuss, with the important caveat that these summaries must be carefully edited to protect confidential, proprietary, and sensitive information. This approach aims to balance the need for transparency with the critical requirement of protecting potentially vulnerable information technology systems from potential security risks by preventing the public disclosure of specific technical details that could be exploited.
Committee Categories
Government Affairs
Sponsors (8)
Barbara Dittrich (R)*,
Nate Gustafson (R)*,
Paul Melotik (R)*,
Dave Murphy (R)*,
Jerry O'Connor (R)*,
Jim Piwowarczyk (R)*,
David Steffen (R)*,
Julian Bradley (R),
Last Action
Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 offered by Representative Gustafson (on 01/21/2026)
Official Document
bill text
bill summary
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bill summary
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bill summary
| Document Type | Source Location |
|---|---|
| State Bill Page | https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2025/proposals/reg/asm/bill/ab487 |
| Analysis - LC Amendment Memo | https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/lcamendmentmemos/2025/REG/AB487.pdf |
| Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 | https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/amends/2025/REG/AB487-ASA1.pdf |
| AB487 ROCP for Committee on Government Operations, Accountability, and Transparency | https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2025/related/records/assembly/government_operations_accountability_and_transparency/1964294.pdf |
| Assembly Amendment 1 | https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/amends/2025/REG/AB487-AA1.pdf |
| BillText | https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/proposaltext/2025/REG/AB487.pdf |
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