AB 816

Subject to approval by the the Joint Committee on Finance, current law requires the Department of Administration to make one or more payments in the form of a grant to the WisconsinEye Public Affairs Network, Inc., not to exceed a total of $10,000,000, for the establishment of an endowment fund. DOA may not award any such grant unless WisconsinEye raises funding for the endowment fund from nonstate sources in an amount that at least equals the amount of that grant. The grant authorization sunsets on June 30, 2026. WisconsinEye currently operates a public affairs network in Wisconsin that broadcasts live state government proceedings, news conferences, and civic events and maintains digital archives of its broadcasts.

This bill eliminates that current-law provision for one or more grants to WisconsinEye totaling up to $10,000,000. Instead, the bill establishes the Office of the Public Affairs Network, which is attached to DOA, for the administration of a public affairs network in Wisconsin. The bill also creates the Public Affairs Network Board to appoint the office’s director and oversee its activities. The board consists of the governor, two public members appointed by the governor, and four members of the legislature.

Under the bill, the public affairs network must satisfy all of the following requirements and prohibitions:

1. The public affairs network must provide unedited live video and audio coverage, including online, of state government proceedings. State government proceedings include floor sessions of the senate and assembly, meetings of legislative committees, meetings of executive branch agencies, supreme court and other judicial proceedings, news conferences by legislators or other state government officials, and related civic events.

2. The public affairs network must provide coverage by live stream online of all legislative proceedings that are open to the public.

3. The public affairs network must permanently maintain and provide online access to unedited digital archives of its coverage of all such state government proceedings.

4. The public affairs network may not impose restrictions, such as a requirement to register, on the public’s access to any of the content.

5. The public affairs network must be operated in a manner that is strictly nonpartisan.

The bill appropriates $2,000,000 per fiscal year to fund the office’s general program operations. The bill also directs DOA and the Public Affairs Network Board to consult with the Educational Communications Board in establishing the public affairs network.

Finally, the bill requires DOA to attempt to obtain the complete digital archives of WisconsinEye and authorizes DOA to contract with WisconsinEye in order to do so and appropriates funds for the contract. If DOA obtains the digital archives, DOA must permanently maintain and provide unrestricted online public access to the complete digital archives. The bill also authorizes seven FTE positions for the public affairs network, in addition to the director, and allows DOA to waive competitive hiring procedures for former WisconsinEye employees to fill those positions.