Schimel boasts of accomplishments in first year

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Like many, Attorney General Brad Schimel is taking some time in the first week of 2016 to reflect on his accomplishments of the past year.

Schimel, who was sworn in as attorney general a year ago, said in a release Tuesday that he has made it a point to fulfill the promises he made while running for his current office. Among other things, he credited himself and his colleagues for establishing the “Dose of Reality” campaign to combat the abuse of prescription painkillers.

During two drug-take-back days held last year, the DOJ collected and destroyed more than 84,000 pounds of discarded prescription drugs. The DOJ also held an Opiate Summit over the course of several days, talking with government officials and the public about ways to curtail painkiller abuse.

Schimel also gave himself and his department credit for opening the Office of Open Government, which is charged with providing information on the state’s public-records and open-meeting laws. Toward the same end, the DOJ held an Open Government Summit last year and presented webinars on open meetings and public records. Discussions were also started on the need to bring the state’s public-records laws up to date and to give reasonable guidance to state and local agencies.

The public rushed to the defense of open records after Republican lawmakers this summer gave initial approval to a budgetary provision that would have greatly curtailed access to various governmental records. The resulting outcry prompted legislators to remove the language before passing the budget in its final version.

Elsewhere, Schimel boasted of doing more to ensure the public is aware of the work performed by the state’s Department of Justice and its more than 600 employees.