County staff briefed on new privacy-shielding law, software and workflow questions ahead of April 1 start

Scott Moore, a representative of Fiddler Technologies, told Rusk County staff and officials on March 26 that a new state privacy-shielding law — referred to in the presentation as Act 235 — requires local offices to accept requests to hide certain personal information starting April 1. The law initially targeted judges, but Moore said similar protections have expanded in other states and Wisconsin’s version carries a 10-year shielding period and criminal penalties for egregious disclosure.

The presentation explained who may qualify for shielding, what county offices must do when a request arrives, and software options to manage routing and redaction. Moore said the state has produced a standard application that officials must accept “as face value” and that county staff have 10 days from receipt to process an application routed to the county’s office of ultimate authority. “This passed, and it starts on Tuesday,” Moore said during his remarks, urging counties to prepare workflows and technical safeguards.

Why it matters: County clerks, register of deeds staff, treasurers and election administrators all maintain public-facing databases that could include home addresses, phone numbers and other details the law protects. Rusk County officials were advised to identify which office will act as the “office of ultimate…