AB 974

Subject to approval by the Joint Committee on Finance, current law requires the Department of Administration to make grants, not to exceed a total of $10,000,000, to the WisconsinEye Public Affairs Network, Inc., for the establishment of an endowment fund. DOA may not award any such grant unless WisconsinEye raises matching funds from nonstate sources, and 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 the current-law provision for the endowment fund. Instead, the bill creates a trust fund from which DOA makes grants to WisconsinEye to be used for its operating costs to broadcast live events and maintain its archives.

The bill requires WisconsinEye to do all of the following as a condition for receiving the grants:

1. Appoint to its board of directors one designee each of the speaker of the assembly, minority leader of the assembly, majority leader of the senate, and minority leader of the senate. Under the bill, no such designee may be a member of the legislature.

2. Focus its coverage primarily on official state government meetings and business.

3. Provide free online public access, on a continuous basis, to the network’s live broadcasts and digital archives.

4. Submit an annual financial report to the legislature and JCF.

Finally, under the bill, if WisconsinEye ceases operations and divests its assets, WisconsinEye must pay back the grants and transfer all of its archives to the state historical society.