UPDATED Thursday, February 9, 2012 --- 2:07 p.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A Democratic state representative wants the Wisconsin Department of Justice to investigate the way Republicans handled the redrawing of political boundaries in the state.
Rep. John Richards said Thursday he was circulating a letter calling for an investigation in the redistricting process. A federal lawsuit over redistricting is scheduled to begin in Milwaukee later this month.
Richards says he is calling for the investigation following reports that most Republican lawmakers signed a legal agreement in which they promised to not comment publicly about redistricting discussions while new GOP-friendly maps were being drafted.
Richards says it appears the public's right to an open government have been violated.
Republican leaders say the agreements were signed to protect lawmakers from getting involved in lawsuits over the drawing of the maps.
Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.
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Posted Tuesday, February 7, 2012 --- 9:15 a.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Nearly all of Wisconsin's Republican legislators signed legal agreements promising not to discuss new redistricting maps while they were being developed.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper reports the agreement tells the lawmakers that they agree not disclose the contents of redistricting discussions or any draft documents they may possess.
Legislative leaders sometimes ask rank-and-file legislators to keep quiet about sensitive bills, but they typically don't ask them to sign non-disclosure agreements. Senate President Mike Ellis, a Neenah Republican, told the Journal Sentinel he had never before been asked to sign such an agreement during his 40 years in office.
Immigrant group Voces de la Frontera filed a complaint in Dane County on Monday that Republicans violated the state's open meetings law.
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Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, http://www.jsonline.com/
Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.
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