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Gov. Scott Walker’s administration still won’t explain what happened to text messages sought by the Wisconsin State Journal related to a failed taxpayer loan to a business owned by a top Walker donor.

The refusal comes despite a reversal this week by the state Public Records Board of an earlier decision over what constitutes “transitory” public records and when such records can be destroyed. The administration cited the revised policy shortly after it was changed in August in explaining why the text messages weren’t available.

The text messages could shed more light on an effort by then-Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch to press for the questionable Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. loan, which has yet to be repaid.

What happened to the text messages is also significant because state law prohibits government agencies from destroying records after a request has been made for them. Anyone who intentionally destroys public records can be subject to criminal penalties.

Without answers from the Walker administration about what happened to the records and when, it’s unclear whether the administration followed the law, said attorney Bob Dreps, an expert on the state Public Records Law who also has represented the State Journal in such cases.