LRB-5526/1
SWB&JK:wlj
2023 - 2024 LEGISLATURE
2023 SENATE BILL 927
January 19, 2024 - Introduced by Senators WANGGAARD and TAYLOR, cosponsored
by Representatives TUSLER and ORTIZ-VELEZ. Referred to Committee on
Judiciary and Public Safety.
***AUTHORS SUBJECT TO CHANGE***
AN ACT to amend 19.36 (11) and 19.55 (1); and to create 8.10 (7), 19.36 (14) and
757.07 of the statutes; relating to: privacy protections for judicial officers,
granting rule-making authority, and providing a penalty.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill establishes privacy protections for judicial officers and a procedure for
a judicial officer to complete a written request for protection of the personal
information of the judicial officer and the judicial officer's immediate family.
Under the bill, a government agency may not publicly post or display publicly
available content that includes a judicial officer's personal information, provided
that the government agency has received a written request from the officer that the
agency refrain from disclosing the personal information. Upon receipt of the written
request, the agency must remove the personal information within five business days
and may not publicly post or display the information. The personal information is
also exempt from public records requests unless the agency has received consent to
make the information available to the public.
The bill also provides that, upon receipt of a written request for privacy
protections from a judicial officer, all persons, businesses, and associations must
refrain from publicly posting or displaying on the Internet publicly available content
that includes the personal information of the judicial officer or the judicial officer's
immediate family. The prohibition does not apply to personal information that the
judicial officer or an immediate family member of the judicial officer voluntarily
publishes on the Internet after the bill goes into effect or personal information
1
2
3 - 2 -2023 - 2024 Legislature LRB-5526/1
SWB&JK:wlj
SENATE BILL 927
lawfully received from a state or federal government source, including from an
employee or agent of the state or federal government.
After a person, business, or association has received a written request from a
judicial officer, the person, business, or association must, within 72 hours of the
request, remove the personal information from the Internet; ensure that the judicial
officer's personal information is not made available on any website or subsidiary
website controlled by that person, business, or association; and identify any other
instances of the identified information that should also be removed. Under the bill,
once a written request is received, no person, business, or association may transfer
the judicial officer's personal information to any other person, business, or
association through any medium, except for personal information that the judicial
officer or an immediate family member of the judicial officer voluntarily publishes
on the Internet after the bill goes into effect, or if a transfer is made at the request
of the judicial officer or is necessary to effectuate a request to the person, business,
or association from the judicial officer. The bill also expressly prohibits a data broker,
as defined in the bill, from knowingly selling, licensing, trading, purchasing, or
otherwise making available for consideration the personal information of a judicial
officer or a judicial officer's immediate family.
Under the bill, a candidate for a judicial office may, instead of having his or her
name and residential address listed on nomination papers, file a certification of
residence with the Elections Commission before circulating nomination papers. A
judicial officer circulating nomination papers on behalf of a candidate for a
nonpartisan office, or signing nomination papers supporting a candidate for a
nonpartisan office, may similarly file a certification of residence with the Elections
Commission before circulating or signing nomination papers. The bill requires the
commission, by rule, to verify the address provided in the certification of residence.
Under current law, generally, a candidate for a state or local elective office must file
nomination papers with the commission or, for a local office, with the appropriate
municipal clerk. The top of each nomination paper must list the candidate's full
name, including any nickname or former surname, and his or her residential street
address. Under current law, a person circulating nomination papers on behalf of a
candidate for a judicial office must also provide a certification at the bottom of each
nomination paper stating his or her residential street address.
Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime,
the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a
report.
For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be
printed as an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SECTION 1. 8.10 (7) of the statutes is created to read:1 - 3 -2023 - 2024 Legislature
LRB-5526/1
SWB&JK:wlj
SECTION 1
SENATE BILL 927
8.10 (7) (a) Notwithstanding sub. (2) (b) and (c) and s. 8.21 (4) (b), a candidate
for filling the office of a judicial officer, as defined in s. 757.07 (1) (e), who files a
certification of residence with the commission before circulating nomination papers
is not required to indicate his or her residential address on the nomination papers,
including nomination papers circulated on behalf of the judicial officer, or on the
declaration of candidacy. Notwithstanding sub. (3) (intro.), a judicial officer, as
defined in s. 757.07 (1) (e), who intends to circulate nomination papers on behalf of
a candidate for filling a nonpartisan office, or who intends to sign nomination papers
to support such a candidate, is not required to indicate his or her residential address
on the certification of a qualified circulator appended to the nomination papers or on
the nomination papers as a signatory. The commission shall promulgate rules for the
administration of this subsection and prescribe a certification of residence for a
candidate or circulating judicial officer for use under this subsection.
(b) Certifications of residence submitted to the commission under par. (a) shall
be kept confidential until the candidate or judicial officer files a declaration of
noncandidacy, except that the commission shall provide such certifications to the
appropriate filing officer for the office the candidate or judicial officer seeks. Filing
officers shall also keep confidential the certifications received by the commission
until the candidate or judicial officer files a declaration of noncandidacy.
SECTION 2. 19.36 (11) of the statutes is amended to read:
19.36 (11) RECORDS OF AN INDIVIDUAL HOLDING A LOCAL PUBLIC OFFICE OR A STATE
PUBLIC OFFICE. Unless access is specifically authorized or required by statute, an
authority shall not provide access under s. 19.35 (1) to records, except to an
individual to the extent required under s. 103.13, containing information
maintained, prepared, or provided by an employer concerning the home address,
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25 - 4 -2023 - 2024 Legislature LRB-5526/1
SWB&JK:wlj
SECTION 2 SENATE BILL 927
home electronic mail address, home telephone number, or social security number of
an individual who holds a local public office or a state public office, unless the
individual authorizes the authority to provide access to such information. This
Except as provided in sub. (14), this subsection does not apply to the home address
of an individual who holds an elective public office or to the home address of an
individual who, as a condition of employment, is required to reside in a specified
location.
SECTION 3. 19.36 (14) of the statutes is created to read:
19.36 (14) PRIVACY PROTECTIONS FOR JUDICIAL OFFICERS. An authority shall not
provide access under s. 19.35 (1) to a certification of residence under s. 8.10 (7) or to
the personal information, as defined in s. 757.07 (1) (f), of a judicial officer, as defined
in s. 757.07 (1) (e), except as provided under s. 8.10 (7) (b).
SECTION 4. 19.55 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
19.55 (1) Except as provided in s. 19.36 (14) and 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.
SECTION 5. 757.07 of the statutes is created to read:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25 - 5 -2023 - 2024 Legislature
LRB-5526/1
SWB&JK:wlj
SECTION 5
SENATE BILL 927
757.07 Privacy protections for judicial officers. (1) DEFINITIONS. In this
section:
(a) “Data broker” means a commercial entity that collects, assembles, or
maintains personal information concerning an individual who is not a customer or
an employee of that entity in order to sell the information or provide 3rd-party access
to the information. “Data broker” does not include any of the following:
1. A commercial entity using personal information internally, providing access
to businesses under common ownership or affiliated by corporate control, or selling
or providing data for a transaction or service requested by or concerning the
individual whose personal information is being transferred.
2. A commercial entity providing publicly available information through
real-time or near real-time alert services for health or safety purposes.
3. A consumer reporting agency subject to the federal Fair Credit Reporting
Act, 15 USC 1681, et seq.
4. A financial institution subject to the requirements of 15 USC 6801, et seq.,
and federal regulations implementing those provisions.
5. A covered entity for purposes of the federal privacy regulations promulgated
under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996,
specifically 42 USC 1320d-2 note.
6. A commercial entity engaging in the collection and sale or licensing of
personal information incidental to conducting the activities described in subds. 1. to
5.
(b) “Government agency” includes any association, authority, board,
department, commission, independent agency, institution, office, society, or other
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24 - 6 -2023 - 2024 Legislature LRB-5526/1
SWB&JK:wlj
SECTION 5 SENATE BILL 927
body corporate and politic in state or local government created or authorized to be
created by the constitution or any law.
(c) “Home address” includes a judicial officer's permanent residence and any
secondary residences affirmatively identified by the judicial officer. “Home address”
does not include a judicial officer's work address.
(d) “Immediate family” includes any of the following:
1. A judicial officer's spouse.
2. A child of the judicial officer or of the judicial officer's spouse, including a
foster child or an adult child not residing with the judicial officer.
3. A parent of the judicial officer or the judicial officer's spouse.
4. Any other person who resides at the judicial officer's residence.
(e) “Judicial officer” means any of the following, whether living or deceased:
1. A justice or former justice of the supreme court.
2. A judge or former judge of the court of appeals.
3. A judge or former judge of any circuit court.
4. A municipal judge or former municipal judge in this state.
5. A circuit court commissioner or former circuit court commissioner in this
state.
(f) “Personal information” means any of the following with regard to a judicial
officer or any immediate family member of a judicial officer, but does not include
information regarding employment with a government agency:
1. A home address.
2. A home or personal mobile telephone number.
3. A personal email address.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24 - 7 -2023 - 2024 Legislature
LRB-5526/1
SWB&JK:wlj
SECTION 5
SENATE BILL 927
4. A social security number, driver's license number, federal tax identification
number, or state tax identification number.
5. A bank account or credit or debit card information.
6. A license plate number or other unique identifiers of a vehicle owned, leased,
or regularly used by a judicial officer or an immediate family member of a judicial
officer.
7. The identification of children under the age of 18 of a judicial officer or an
immediate family member of a judicial officer.
8. The full date of birth.
9. Information regarding current or future school or day care attendance,
including the name or address of the school or day care, schedules of attendance, or
routes taken to or from the school or day care by a judicial officer or an immediate
family member of a judicial officer.
10. Information regarding an employment location, including the name or
address of the employer, employment schedules, or routes taken to or from the
employer by a judicial officer or an immediate family member of a judicial officer.
11. Marital status.
(g) “Publicly available content” means any written, printed, or electronic
document or record that provides information or that serves as a document or record
maintained, controlled, or in the possession of a government agency that may be
obtained by any person or entity, from the Internet, from the government agency
upon request either free of charge or for a fee, or in response to a public records
request under ch. 19.
(h) “Publicly post or display” means to intentionally communicate or otherwise
make available to the general public.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25 - 8 -2023 - 2024 Legislature LRB-5526/1
SWB&JK:wlj
SECTION 5 SENATE BILL 927
(i) “Transfer” means to sell, license, trade, or exchange for consideration the
personal information of a judicial officer or a judicial officer's immediate family
member.
(j) “Written request” means written notice signed by a judicial officer or a
representative of the judicial officer's employer requesting a government agency,
business, association, or other person to refrain from publicly posting or displaying
publicly available content that includes the personal information of the judicial
officer or judicial officer's immediate family.
(2) PUBLICLY POSTING OR DISPLAYING A JUDICIAL OFFICER'S PERSONAL INFORMATION
BY A GOVERNMENT AGENCY. (a) A government agency may not publicly post or display
publicly available content that includes a judicial officer's personal information,
provided that the government agency has received a written request in accordance
with sub. (4) that it refrain from disclosing the judicial officer's personal information.
After a government agency has received a written request, that agency shall remove
the judicial officer's personal information from publicly available content within 5
business days. After the government agency has removed the judicial officer's
personal information from publicly available content, the agency may not publicly
post or display the information, and the judicial officer's personal information shall
be exempt from inspection and copying under s. 19.35 unless the government agency
has received consent from the judicial officer to make the personal information
available to the public.
(b) Nothing in this subsection prohibits a government agency from providing
access to records containing the personal information of a judicial officer to a 3rd
party if the 3rd party meets any of the following criteria:
1. Possesses a signed release from the judicial officer.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25 - 9 -2023 - 2024 Legislature
LRB-5526/1
SWB&JK:wlj
SECTION 5
SENATE BILL 927
2. Is subject to the requirements of 15 USC 6801, et seq.
3. Executes a confidentiality agreement with the government agency.
(3) DATA BROKERS AND OTHER PERSONS AND BUSINESSES. (a) No data broker may
knowingly sell, license, trade, purchase, or otherwise make available for
consideration the personal information of a judicial officer or a judicial officer's
immediate family.
(b) 1. No person, business, or association may publicly post or display on the
Internet publicly available content that includes the personal information of a
judicial officer or the judicial officer's immediate family, provided that the judicial
officer has made a written request to the person, business, or association that it
refrain from disclosing or acquiring the personal information.
2. Subdivision 1. does not apply to any of the following:
a. Personal information that the judicial officer or an immediate family
member of the judicial officer voluntarily publishes on the Internet after the effective
date of this subd. 2. a. .... [LRB inserts date].
b. Personal information lawfully received from a state or federal government
source, including from an employee or agent of the state or federal government.
(c) 1. After a person, business, or association has received a written request
from a judicial officer to protect the privacy of the personal information of the judicial
officer and the judicial officer's immediate family, the person, business, or
association shall remove from the Internet, within 72 hours, the personal
information identified in the request; ensure that the information is not made
available on any website or subsidiary website controlled by that person, business,
or association; and identify any other instances of the identified information that
should also be removed.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25 - 10 -2023 - 2024 Legislature LRB-5526/1
SWB&JK:wlj
SECTION 5 SENATE BILL 927
2. After receiving a judicial officer's written request, no person, business, or
association may transfer the judicial officer's personal information to any other
person, business, or association through any medium, except as follows:
a. The person, business, or association may transfer personal information that
the judicial officer or an immediate family member of the judicial officer voluntarily
publishes on the Internet after the effective date of this subd. 2. a. .... [LRB inserts
date].
b. The person, business, or association may transfer the judicial officer's
personal information at the request of the judicial officer if the transfer is necessary
to effectuate a request to the person, business, or association from the judicial officer.
(4) PROCEDURE FOR COMPLETING A WRITTEN REQUEST FOR PROTECTION OF PERSONAL
INFORMATION. (a) No government agency, person, business, or association may be
found to have violated any provision of this section if the judicial officer fails to
submit a written request calling for the protection of the personal information of the
judicial officer or the judicial officer's immediate family.
(b) A written request under this subsection is valid if all of the following are
true:
1. The judicial officer sends a written request directly to a government agency,
person, business, or association.
2. If the director of state courts has a policy and procedure for a judicial officer
to file the written request with the director of state court's office to notify government
agencies, the judicial officer may send the written request to the director of state
courts. In each quarter of a calendar year, the director of state courts shall provide
to the appropriate officer with ultimate supervisory authority for a government
agency a list of all judicial officers who have submitted the written request under this
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25 - 11 -2023 - 2024 Legislature
LRB-5526/1
SWB&JK:wlj
SECTION 5
SENATE BILL 927
subsection. The officer shall promptly provide a copy of the list to the government
agencies under his or her supervision. Receipt of the written request list compiled
by the director of state courts office by a government agency shall constitute a written
request to that agency for purposes of this subsection.
(c) A representative from the judicial officer's employer may submit a written
request on the judicial officer's behalf, provided that the judicial officer has given
written consent to the representative and provided that the representative agrees
to furnish a copy of that consent when the written request is made. The
representative shall submit the written request as provided under par. (b).
(d) A judicial officer's written request shall specify what personal information
shall be maintained as private. If a judicial officer wishes to identify a secondary
residence as a home address, the designation shall be made in the written request.
A judicial officer's written request shall disclose the identity of the officer's
immediate family and indicate that the personal information of these family
members shall also be excluded to the extent that it could reasonably be expected to
reveal personal information of the judicial officer.
(e) A judicial officer's written request is valid until one of the following occurs:
1. The judicial officer provides the government agency, person, business, or
association with written permission to release the personal information.
2. The death of the judicial officer.
(5) (a) A judicial officer whose personal information is made public as a result
of a violation of this section may bring an action seeking injunctive or declaratory
relief in any court of competent jurisdiction. Notwithstanding s. 814.04, if the court
grants injunctive or declaratory relief, the governmental agency, business,
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24 - 12 -2023 - 2024 Legislature LRB-5526/1
SWB&JK:wlj
SECTION 5 SENATE BILL 927
association, data broker, or other person responsible for the violation shall be
required to pay the judicial officer's costs and reasonable attorney fees.
(b) Provided that an employee of a government agency has complied with the
conditions set forth in sub. (2), it is not a violation of this section if an employee of
a government agency publishes personal information, in good faith, on the website
of the government agency in the ordinary course of carrying out public functions.
(c) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly publicly post or display on the
Internet the personal information of a judicial officer or of the judicial officer's
immediate family if the person intends the public posting or display of the personal
information to create or increase a threat to the health and safety of the judicial
officer or the judicial officer's immediate family and, under the circumstances, bodily
injury or death of the judicial officer or a member of the judicial officer's immediate
family is a natural and probable consequence of the posting or display. A person who
violates this paragraph is guilty of a Class G felony.
(6) This section shall be construed broadly to favor the protection of the
personal information of judicial officers and the immediate family of judicial officers.
SECTION 6.0Effective date.
(1) This act takes effect on the first day of the 7th month beginning after
publication.
(END)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20