To assess the DOA’s performance, the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism analyzed the nearly 200 records requests the agency received in the first six months of 2012. The analysis found the DOA took an average of 24 days to provide records or denials.

As in years past, the latest report seems intent on meeting the letter of the law while being as unenlightening as possible.

State Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, is asking state and University of Wisconsin-Madison officials to review the process through which a subcontractor was selected to build a new scoreboard and sound system at Camp Randall Stadium, to see if the jobs should be rebid.

A belatedly issued report on the state’s hiring of outside contractors is raising fresh questions about the integrity of the process.

State agencies’ hiring of outside contractors surged last year, according to a report quietly released by the state Department of Administration. The annual report, posted Monday on the DOA’s website, shows that state agencies spent $363.8 million on private contractors — an increase of 26 percent compared to the previous fiscal year.

In the past, these mandatory Contractual Service Purchasing Reports have been filed between one and seven weeks late. The Walker administration has that topped; its report for 2011 is now more than eight months late.