MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- If you want to record your state government in action, you'll need to get permission from lawmakers first.
This month, legislative leaders began enforcing a 20-year-old rule that prohibits members of the public from recording floor sessions or committee meetings at the state Capitol.
The decision to crack down on who gets to record their state government coincides with the shutdown of WisconsinEye - a web service that had for years provided free livestreams and recordings of the Legislature's meetings and hearings.
During a busy day of hearings Wednesday, Jan. 14, a CBS 58 crew took multiple cameras into four different committee hearings.
At two of the hearings, either lawmakers or staff asked to see credentials.
In the Assembly Committee on Government Operations, Accountability and Transparency (GOAT), Chairwoman Amanda Nedweski (R-Pleasant Prairie) read the rule aloud before the hearing, then noticed the CBS 58 crew recording.
She stopped to ask a reporter and photojournalist for their credentials, then proceeded after seeing them.
A spokesman for Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) confirmed the enforcement efforts are in response to WisconsinEye ceasing operations.
"With WisconsinEye gone, we are simply reaffirming the long-established rules of the Assembly," Luke Wolff, a spokesman for Vos, said. "Credentialed media are still allowed to attend and record committee meetings."
Vos's office, as well as a large sign displayed outside Tuesday's Assembly floor session, referred to Assembly Rule 26 (8) (a).
That rule reads, "Individuals in the visitors galleries...may not use any audio or video device to record, photograph, film, videotape, or in any way depict the proceedings."
Dan Lennington, Vice President of the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, a conservative law firm, questioned whether the legislatives rules are legal.
"If this went to court, it'd be pretty likely struck down," Lennington said. "At least with regard to what's happening in these committee and hearing rooms."
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) declined to comment for this story.
While leaders aren't publicly saying why they're cracking down on recording at the Capitol, Lennington said he's heard top lawmakers are concerned about campaign trackers flooding the Capitol in an attempt to catch hot mic moments.
CBS 58 sources at the Capitol, requesting anonymity, said they've also heard that's lawmakers' motive.
"The idea that you're going to videotape your opponent, and then tell the opponent what your opponent says, is really the heartland of the First Amendment," Lennington said.
During a press conference Tuesday, Assembly Democrats called for WisconsinEye to have its funding restored and/or have the recording rules relaxed.
Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) told reporters she was unaware of a time when the rule had previously been enforced.
"I would ask that you would ask yourself, 'What kind of politician doesn't want for a camera to film what we are doing?'" State Rep. Mike Bare (D-Verona) added.
Later in the afternoon Wednesday, Nedweski approached a CBS 58 reporter to apologize for the earlier interaction.
Nedweski declined to be interviewed on camera but said she had problems with the rule because it "puts her in a tough spot," especially given how she chairs a committee dedicated to transparent government.
Lennington said it may well be a matter of time until someone without proper credentials forces the issue and gets arrested for recording a government meeting without permission. He suggested it's a lawsuit waiting to happen.
"These are all significant concerns," he said. "And we think this is something Legislature really ought to backtrack on and come up with much better rules."