A bipartisan committee of Wisconsin legislators has signed off on a $250,000 funding deal for WisconsinEye, the livestream service that covers the state Legislature.

The Joint Committee on Legislative Organization approved the funds, to be paid out $50,000 per month starting Aug. 1, on a 9-1 vote, the nonpartisan Legislative Council announced Tuesday. The committee is made up of six Republican and four Democratic leaders of both the Senate and the Assembly.

Sen. Dan Feyen (R-Fond du Lac), the assistant Senate majority leader, cast the only vote against the proposal.

The funding is to support WisconsinEye so it can provide livestream coverage of floor sessions in the Legislature as well as public hearings and votes held by Senate and Assembly committees, as it continues to seek long-term funding to operate.

WisEye President Jon Henkes welcomed the vote Tuesday, saying that it provided “a strong statement of support” in both chambers “for unfettered citizen access to state government proceedings,” with both Republicans and Democrats signing on.

“They’ve put action to their words that transparency is essential to our democracy, and we are extremely grateful,” Henkes said in a statement.

Henkes said the sum was sufficient for WisconsinEye to maintain operations through December, including its coverage of events in the 2026 election campaign as well as coverage of the Legislature’s joint study committees, which are discussing a variety of topics with future policy implications.

The vote also provides “an existing foundation of ongoing support” that will be important to charitable donors and WisEye program sponsors, according to the WisconsinEye statement.

The streaming service is counting on the new Legislature that takes office in January 2027 to reach a bipartisan agreement for future partial funding for the service.

WisconsinEye launched as an independent nonprofit in 2007 to livestream and archive government meetings and legislative sessions. The service has operated on donations and runs independently from the state Legislature.

WisconsinEye’s management announced in November 2025 that it needed additional revenue to support the service’s $900,000 annual budget after donations fell behind in the last couple of years.  The service went dark for nearly two months at the end of December, resuming in February.

Two separate proposals to fund the service passed earlier this year, one in the Assembly and the other in the Senate, but neither one got a vote in the opposite chamber.

Wisconsin lawmakers are voting this week to fund WisconsinEye through the end of 2026 with $250,000.

The funding would support the service, which provides livestream coverage of floor sessions in the Legislature as well as public hearings and votes held by Senate and Assembly committees, as it continues to seek long-term funding to operate.

Members of the Joint Committee on Legislative Organization received paper ballots Monday to vote on a proposal to send WisconsinEye $50,000 per month starting in August and ending in December. The cost would be split between the Assembly and the Senate.

The ballots are due at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Funding would come from appropriations in the budget to carry out the functions of each chamber, including expenses for legislative documents, according to the Wisconsin Legislative Council, a nonpartisan service agency for the Legislature.

WisEye CEO Jon Henkes could not be reached for comment Monday on the potential impact of the funding if it is approved as expected.

WisconsinEye launched as an independent nonprofit in 2007 to livestream and archive government meetings and legislative sessions. The service has operated on donations and runs independently from the state Legislature.

WisconsinEye’s management announced in November 2025 that it needed additional revenue to support the service’s $900,000 annual budget after donations fell behind in the last couple of years.

Henkes told the Wisconsin Examiner at the time that contributions haven’t kept up with expenses since the COVID-19 pandemic. WisEye temporarily halted coverage Dec. 15, 2025. It resumed coverage Feb. 2, 2026, after the Joint Committee on Legislative Organization authorized $50,000 to cover the service for that month.

Two separate proposals to fund the service passed earlier this year, one in the Assembly and the other in the Senate, but neither one got a vote in the opposite chamber.

WisEye launched a GoFundMe campaign in January with a goal of raising $250,000. In a July 15 fundraising email, WisEye said it had raised nearly half of that goal and needed $130,000 “to maintain operations for the next few months.”