FIRE Writes to Wisconsin Governor Urging Veto of Unconstitutional Budget Measure

On June 6, we reported on an addition to the Wisconsin State Legislature’s budget proposal that would forbid University of Wisconsin (UW) faculty from working with the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, a nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism organization. FIRE then wrote a letter to Governor Scott Walker on June 13, expressing our concern with this provision and explaining its unconstitutional effects. As of this week, both the Assembly and the Senate of the state legislature have approved the budget proposal, including this provision, and it is awaiting Governor Scott Walker’s signature or veto. FIRE has written again today to Governor Walker strongly urging him to veto this modification to the budget in order to protect the academic freedom of UW faculty. We sincerely hope that he recognizes the serious ramifications of such a limit on UW faculty and that he does not allow this measure to go into effect. Check back to The Torch for updates on this situation.