Wisconsin’s Joint Committee on Legislative Organization voted this week on whether to send WisconsinEye $250,000 to keep the state’s only independent legislative streaming service running through December 2026.
The committee distributed paper ballots on Monday, July 21, with a 5 p.m. Tuesday deadline. If approved as expected, the funding would flow at $50,000 per month from August through December, split equally between the Assembly and the Senate and drawn from each chamber’s operating appropriations.
WisconsinEye Shut Down Once Already in 2025
WisconsinEye launched in 2007 as an independent nonprofit to livestream and archive Wisconsin legislative sessions, floor votes, and committee hearings. It runs independently from the Legislature and has operated on private donations with a $900,000 annual budget.
Donations fell behind expenses after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to WisEye CEO Jon Henkes. The service halted all coverage on December 15, 2025. It resumed on February 2, 2026, only after the committee authorized a one-time $50,000 emergency payment covering that single month.
$900,000 is WisconsinEye’s annual operating budget to cover the entire Wisconsin Legislature’s floor sessions and committee hearings.
Two separate funding proposals passed in 2026, one in the Assembly and one in the Senate. Neither received a vote in the opposite chamber, and both died without becoming law.
The Stopgap Runs Out December 31
The $250,000 approved this week covers five months. WisconsinEye’s long-term funding remains unresolved after a second shutdown scare inside one year.
WisconsinEye launched a GoFundMe in January 2026 with a goal of $250,000. As of a July 15, 2026 fundraising email, the campaign had raised roughly $120,000 and still needed $130,000 to sustain operations through the coming months.
WisconsinEye Board Chair Mark O’Connell testified in February 2026 in favor of permanent statutory funding. That legislation died in committee. Without a permanent solution before the 2027-2029 state budget cycle, the service faces a third funding crisis in early 2027.
When WisconsinEye goes dark, Wisconsin residents lose the only independent streaming record of Assembly and Senate committee hearings. The Legislature does not run an equivalent public service. No WisEye means no live or archived public access to proceedings conducted in citizens’ names.
What You Can Do Now
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Call your Wisconsin state representative and senator at the Legislature’s main line, (608) 266-9960, and ask them to pass permanent statutory funding for WisconsinEye in the 2027-2029 state budget. The current stopgap expires December 31, 2026. Without permanent funding, the service faces another shutdown in early 2027.
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Contact Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu through the Legislature’s member contact directory at legis.wisconsin.gov/pages/cont.aspx. Tell them that neither chamber should let earlier permanent funding bills die again without a floor vote in both chambers.
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Donate to WisconsinEye directly. The GoFundMe still needed $130,000 as of July 15, 2026. Contribute or share the campaign at wiseye.org, where the organization also lists its direct donation options.
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Ask your local news outlet or civic organization to co-sign a letter to legislative leadership supporting permanent WisconsinEye funding. O’Connell’s February testimony showed that public witness pressure moved the committee once; it can move it again for a long-term solution.
Sources
Wisconsin Examiner: Lawmakers to Vote on $250K Infusion for WisEye Streaming Service WisconsinEye: About the Organization and GoFundMe Campaign Wisconsin Legislative Council: Joint Committee on Legislative Organization Overview Wisconsin Examiner: WisconsinEye Halts Coverage After Funding Falls Short Wisconsin Legislature: Member Contact Directory