Campaign financing, designations for the Wisconsin election campaign fund by individuals filing state income tax returns, creating a nonrefundable individual income tax credit for contributions to the Public Integrity Endowment, candidate time on public broadcasting television stations and public access channels, staffing of the Government Accountability Board; providing exemptions from emergency rule procedures; granting rule-making authority; making appropriations; and providing penalties

Currently, a new registrant is generally prohibited from making a contribution or disbursement from property or funds received prior to the date of registration, except that, if a registrant holds property or funds at the time of registration that were not intended for political purposes in connection with an election for state or local office at the time that they were received, the registrant may report the property or funds as received on the date of registration and may then use the property or funds to make a contribution or disbursement.

This bill provides that no individual who or organization which is subject to a registration requirement may make any contribution prior to the date of registration. In addition, the bill provides that no registrant may accept any contribution from any individual who or organization which is subject to a registration requirement prior to the date of registration of that individual or organization.

Currently, a nonresident registrant need report only contributions and other income received from sources in this state and disbursements made and obligations incurred with respect to an election for state or local office in this state. This bill deletes this exception to reporting requirements. The bill also requires nonresident registrants to include in their reports a separate statement of contributions, transfers, loans, and other income received from sources in this state and disbursements and obligations incurred with respect to elections for state and local office in this state. The change does not affect reporting by authorized committees of candidates for the office of U.S. senator or representative in Congress.

Currently, a national political party committee need not file reports for any period covered in a report filed by the committee with the Federal Election Commission. In addition, a state political party committee which is registered with the Federal Election Commission and which makes contributions to candidates for national office, as well as contributions to other state political party committees, need not file reports for any period covered by a report filed by the committee with the Federal Election Commission if the Government Accountability Board receives a copy of that report and the committee makes no contributions to any individual who or organization which is required to register with a filing officer under Wisconsin law.

This bill deletes these exceptions to state reporting requirements.

Reporting thresholds This bill provides that an individual who accepts contributions, makes disbursements, or incurs obligations or a group that makes or accepts contributions, makes disbursements, or incurs obligations in connection with one or more referenda is not subject to registration and reporting requirements until the individual or group engages in activity exceeding $100 cumulatively within a calendar year.

The bill also permits an individual or committee to claim an exemption from reporting requirements if the individual or committee does not accept contributions, make disbursements, or incur obligations exceeding $1,000 cumulatively within a calendar year with respect to an election for state office, and does not accept contributions, other than contributions made by a candidate to his or her own campaign, exceeding $100 from a single source cumulatively within a calendar year.

If an individual or committee does not accept contributions, make disbursements, or incur obligations with respect to an election for any state office but accepts contributions, makes disbursements, or incurs obligations independently of any candidate with respect to an election for local office, the bill permits the individual or committee to claim an exemption from reporting requirements if the individual or committee does not accept contributions, make disbursements, or incur obligations exceeding $100 cumulatively within a calendar year.

Mass media activities Currently, individuals who accept contributions, organizations that make or accept contributions, and individuals who or organizations that incur obligations or make disbursements for the purpose of influencing an election for state or local office are generally required to register with the appropriate filing officer and to file financial reports with that officer, regardless of whether they act in conjunction with or independently of any candidate who is supported or opposed.

With certain exceptions, this bill imposes registration and reporting requirements, in addition, upon any individual who and organization that, within 60 days of an election, makes any mass communication, including an electronic communication, a mass distribution, or a mass telephoning, that includes a reference to a candidate at that election, an office to be filled at that election, or a political party.

The bill imposes registration and reporting requirements upon any individual who or organization that, at any time, makes any mass communication that refers to a candidate for judicial office and either focuses on and takes a position for or against a judicial candidate's position on an issue or takes a position on that judicial candidate's character, qualifications, or fitness for office. The bill also requires an individual who or organization that becomes subject to a registration requirement by making such a communication to report, upon registration, the information that would have been required to be reported if the individual or organization had been registered with respect to any obligation incurred or disbursement made for the purpose of making such a communication prior to registration. The bill, however, does not require registration and reporting if the communication is made by a corporation, cooperative, or nonpolitical voluntary association and is limited to the corporation's, cooperative's, or association's members, shareholders, or subscribers.

In addition, the bill exempts from registration and reporting the cost of making a communication that 1) does not support or oppose a candidate's record on an issue;

2) does not mention an election, a candidacy, an opposing candidate, a political party, or voting by the general public; and 3) does not take a position on a candidate's or officeholder's character, qualifications, or fitness for office, and either a) focuses on and takes a position on a legislative or executive matter or issue and urges the public to adopt the position and to contact one or more public officials about the matter or issue, or b) proposes a commercial transaction, unless the communication is susceptible of no reasonable interpretation other than as an appeal to vote for or against a candidate for state or local office whose name is certified to appear on the ballot at the election.

The change in the scope of reportable activity under the bill also applies to contribution and disbursement (spending) limitations and restrictions by causing reportable "contributions," "obligations," and "disbursements" to include the cost of all reportable communications.

Special reporting by certain registrants Currently, a committee making contributions or a candidate or other individual or committee accepting contributions, making disbursements, or incurring obligations in support of or opposition to a candidate is generally required to file a report no later than the eighth day before a primary or election at which the candidate seeks nomination or election to office. The report must disclose contributions made or accepted, disbursements made, and obligations incurred through the 14th day prior to the primary or election. Currently, if a candidate for state office receives one or more contributions from a single contributor aggregating $500 or more during the 14-day period preceding an election, the candidate must report to the Government Accountability Board the information currently required to be disclosed pertaining to contributions received by the candidate no later than 24 hours following receipt of any such contribution or contributions.

This bill requires each candidate at the general or a special election for a major state office (the office of governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of public instruction, justice of the supreme court, state senator, or representative to the assembly) who does not accept a public grant (see below) and who makes any disbursement after the candidate has accumulated cash in his or her campaign depository or has made disbursements in his or her campaign exceeding a combined total of 75 percent of the amount of the disbursement limitation for the office that the candidate seeks, to file daily reports, by electronic mail or facsimile transmission, with the Government Accountability Board and with each candidate whose name appears on the ballot for the office in connection with which the disbursement is made. The daily reports may be filed no later than 24 hours after each disbursement is made, and must include the information that is currently required to be reported pertaining to disbursements made by candidates. The daily reports must be filed during the time period beginning with the later of the date of the disbursement that triggers the requirement or the seventh day after the applicable primary election or the date that a primary would be held, if required, and ending with date of the election at which the candidate seeks office.

The bill also creates additional reporting requirements, applicable to certain special interest committees. Under the bill, reporting may be required of any special interest committee, other than a conduit, that makes any disbursement (as currently defined) or incurs any obligation independently of a candidate for the purpose of advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate for a major state office at the general or a special election or any applicable primary election. These additional reporting requirements do not apply to communications that are made by a corporation, cooperative, or nonpolitical voluntary association and that are limited to the corporation's, cooperative's, or association's members, shareholders, or subscribers. Under the bill, the special interest committee must file these additional reports within 24 hours after a reportable transaction occurs.

Timeliness in filing reports Currently, where a requirement is imposed under the campaign finance law for filing of a report by a specified date, the requirement may be satisfied by depositing the report with the U.S. Postal Service no later than the date provided by law for receipt of the report.

This bill permits satisfaction of the filing requirement only by delivering a report to the appropriate filing officer or agency on or before the date provided by law for receipt of the report or by depositing the report with the U.S. Postal Service no later than the third day before that date.

Disbursement limitations and independent disbursements Under current law, disbursement (expenditure) levels are specified for candidates for various state and local offices. These levels become a binding limitation upon any candidate for state office who accepts a state grant from the Wisconsin election campaign fund or who agrees to be bound by the limitation, unless the candidate is opposed by a major opponent who could have qualified for a grant but declines to accept one. A candidate for state office who accepts a grant from the Wisconsin election campaign fund and who agrees to be bound by the disbursement limitation applicable to the office which the candidate seeks may receive a grant equal to 45 percent of that disbursement limitation, less contributions accepted by the candidate from committees other than political party and legislative campaign committees, if there are sufficient moneys in the fund to finance the full amount of grants for which candidates qualify.

Current law also imposes registration and financial reporting requirements on committees and individuals making disbursements independently of a candidate in support of or in opposition to a candidate for a state or local office. One requirement is the obligation of the committee or individual to file reports with the appropriate filing officer within 24 hours of making such a disbursement, if the disbursement is made less than 15 days before a primary or election and if the cumulative amount of such disbursements exceeds $20.

This bill does the following:

1. It revises the current disbursement levels applicable to candidates for the offices shown below as follows:

- See PDF for table 2. It creates a biennial cost-of-living adjustment that causes the statutory disbursement levels to be adjusted biennially, beginning in 2010, in accordance with a formula tied to the "consumer price index" determined by the U.S. Department of Labor.

3. It provides that the current provision requiring reports of cumulative independent disbursements exceeding $20 made later than 15 days prior to a primary or election does not apply to a committee or individual that is required to file a special report concerning the same disbursement (see above), nor to a committee or individual that is subject to an electronic filing requirement (see above).

4. It increases the disbursement limitation of any candidate who accepts a public grant by certain amounts for which matching grants from the Wisconsin election campaign fund are potentially available (see grant eligibility requirements and amounts, below). Under the bill, the disbursement limitation of the candidate accepting the grant is increased by a total amount equal to: 1) the amount or value of disbursements made by an opponent in excess of the disbursement limitation; and 2) the amount or value of independent disbursements made to expressly advocate the defeat of the candidate or the election of his or her opponents by special interest committees during election campaign periods, as reported to the Government Accountability Board.

5. It repeals the procedure by which a candidate who would not otherwise be subject to statutory disbursement limitations may voluntarily agree to comply with these limitations.

6. It repeals the exemption from disbursement and self-contribution limitations that currently applies to any candidate who accepts a grant from the Wisconsin election campaign fund and who is opposed by a major opponent who could have qualified for a grant but declines to accept one.

Contribution limitations Under current law, committees other than political party committees and legislative campaign committees are subject to limitations on the amount of contributions made cumulatively to a particular candidate. A committee may contribute up to $43,238 to a candidate for statewide office. Current law also limits the cumulative amount of contributions that a committee may make annually to a particular political party, limits the cumulative amount of contributions that a political party may accept annually from a particular committee, and limits the aggregate total of contributions that a political party may accept during any biennium from all committees. Currently, a committee may annually contribute up to $6,000 to a particular political party, a political party may annually accept up to $6,000 from a particular committee, and a political party may accept up to $150,000 in contributions from all committees during any biennium.

This bill establishes specified limitations on committee contributions to candidates for statewide office as follows: 1) candidates for governor, $45,000; 2) candidates for lieutenant governor, $15,000; 3) candidates for attorney general, $25,000; and 4) candidates for secretary of state, state treasurer, or superintendent of public instruction, $10,000. Under the bill, the limitation on committee contributions to a particular political party, and on the annual amount that a political party may accept from a particular committee, is increased to $18,000, and the aggregate limitation on contributions that a political party may accept during a biennium from all committees is increased to $600,000.

Under current law, the aggregate contributions accepted by a candidate for state or local office from all committees, when combined with any grant received from the Wisconsin election campaign fund, may not exceed 65 percent of the disbursement level or limitation for the office that the candidate seeks. In addition, the contributions received by a candidate for state or local office from all committees other than political party or legislative campaign committees, when combined with any grant received from the Wisconsin election campaign fund, may not exceed 45 percent of the disbursement level or limitation for the office that the candidate seeks.

This bill provides that the contributions received by a candidate for state or local office from all committees other than political party committees, when combined with any nonsupplemental grant received from the Wisconsin election campaign fund, may not exceed 35 percent of the disbursement level or limitation for the office that the candidate seeks. Under the bill, a candidate who qualifies to receive a supplemental grant from the Wisconsin election campaign fund (see below) may exceed aggregate committee contribution limitations by an amount equal to the amount of the supplemental grant. The bill makes the aggregate contribution limits inapplicable to a candidate for the office of justice of the supreme court who receives a public financing benefit from the democracy trust fund (see below).

Under current law, a candidate who accepts a grant from the Wisconsin election campaign fund may not make contributions to his or her own campaign in an amount or value greater than 200 percent of the contribution limitation that applies to individuals making contributions to his or her campaign. Under the bill, if a candidate's disbursement limitation is increased as a result of disbursements made by an opposing candidate or independent disbursements or obligations made or incurred by others, this self-contribution limitation is increased by an amount equal to the ratio that the contribution limitation otherwise applicable to the candidate bears to the disbursement limitation otherwise applicable to the candidate, multiplied by the amount of the increased disbursement limitation authorized under the bill for that candidate.

Treatment of legislative campaign committees Currently, the adherents of any political party in either house of the legislature may organize a "legislative campaign committee" to support the candidacy of members of their party for legislative office. Committees other than legislative campaign committees and political party committees are generally subject to a limitation upon the contributions that they may make to candidates for legislative office or to political parties. Legislative campaign committees are subject only to overall limitations on the aggregate contributions that may be accepted by a candidate from entities other than individuals.

This bill eliminates the special status of legislative campaign committees, thus causing them to be treated in the same manner as other special interest committees for the purpose of contribution limitations.

Other contribution restrictions This bill prohibits contributions to incumbent partisan state officials and candidates for partisan state office during the period from January 1 of an odd-numbered year through the date of enactment of the biennial budget act. The prohibition does not apply to contributions made to an incumbent who is subject to a recall election or to a nonincumbent candidate at a recall election beginning on the date on which a petitioner registers an intent to circulate a petition for a recall election against the incumbent and ending on the date of the recall election, except that if the circulation period expires without offering of the recall petition for filing, the filing officer determines not to file the petition, or the incumbent resigns, the period ends on the date of that event. The prohibition also does not apply to a candidate for a partisan state office at a special election. No similar provision exists currently.

Currently, if a registrant receives a contribution, the registrant must deposit the contribution in its campaign depository account no later than the end of the fifth business day commencing after receipt, unless the registrant returns the contribution before that time. A registrant must report the occupation and principal place of employment of any individual who makes any contribution or contributions to a registrant exceeding $100 in amount or value cumulatively within a calendar year. This bill provides that whenever a registrant receives a contribution in the form of money the registrant must obtain this information from a contributor, if required, before depositing the contributor's contribution in its campaign depository account. Under the bill, if the registrant does not obtain the required information within the period prescribed for making deposits, the registrant must return the contribution.

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