Attorney General Brad Schimel to host open government summit following uproar

MADISON — Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel is hosting an open government summit this week, just weeks after he spoke out against proposed changes to the open records law that would have kept many government records private.

Schimel tells the Wisconsin State Journal in a story published Monday that he wants to update the state's open records law for the first time since 1981 to better reflect government officials' use of modern technology.

The meeting Wednesday is expected to bring together government officials, journalists, attorneys, open-government advocates and others to discuss a wide variety of issues.

Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council president Bill Lueders says improvements to the law can be made, but he is concerned given the move made in the Legislature earlier this month to gut the law.