SB62: Bill Text

4. Mass communications

Currently, individuals who accept contributions, organizations which make or accept contributions, or individuals who or organizations which 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 or organization that, within 60 days of an election and by means of a newspaper, periodical, commercial billboard, radio station, television station, mass mailing, or telephone bank operator, makes a communication which includes the name or likeness of a candidate at that election, an office to be filled at that election, or a political party. 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.

5. 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 limit applicable to the office which the candidate seeks may receive a grant equal to 45% of that disbursement limit, less certain committee contributions accepted by the candidate, 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:

1. Revises the current disbursement levels applicable to candidates for the offices shown in the following chart: - See PDF for table

2. Provides that the total disbursement limitation for a candidate whose name appears on the ballot at a primary election and who receives less than twice as many votes at that election as another candidate for the same office is 120% of the amount provided for the candidate receiving the greatest number of votes for that office.

3. Creates a biennial cost-of-living adjustment that causes the statutory disbursement levels to be adjusted biennially, beginning in 2004, in accordance with a formula tied to the "consumer price index" determined by the U.S. department of labor.

4. Replaces the provision requiring reports of cumulative independent disbursements exceeding $20 made later than 15 days prior to a primary or election with a provision that requires cumulative independent disbursements or obligations exceeding $20 during that period to be so reported.

5. Increases the disbursement limitation of any candidate who accepts a public grant by: a) an amount equal to any independent disbursements that are made to oppose that candidate, or to support that candidate's opponent, exceeding 10% of the disbursement limitation for the office that the candidate seeks; and b) the total amount of disbursements exceeding the amount of the disbursement limitation for that office made by any opposing candidate who does not accept a public grant.

6. 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.

7. Repeals the exemption from disbursement 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. Under the bill, the candidate accepting the grant remains bound by the applicable disbursement limitations.

Contribution limitations

Current law limits the amount of contributions which may be given to and accepted by a candidate for state or local office. Currently, individuals are subject to limitations on the amount of contributions made cumulatively to a particular candidate and on the aggregate total of contributions made to all candidates. An individual making a contribution to a candidate for statewide office may contribute up to $10,000, an individual making a contribution to a candidate for the office of state senator may contribute up to $1,000, and an individual making a contribution to a candidate for the office of representative to the assembly may contribute up to $500. However, an individual may not contribute more than $10,000 annually to all candidates combined.

Under this bill, the limitation on individual contributions to candidates for statewide offices is $1,000, the limitation on individual contributions to candidates for the office of state senator is $500, and the limitation on individual contributions to candidates for the office of representative to the assembly is $250. The annual limitation on individual contributions to all candidates under the bill is $5,000.

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.

Under this bill, the limitation on committee contributions to candidates for statewide office is increased to $45,000, 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 $12,000, and the aggregate limitation on contributions that a political party may accept during a biennium from all committees is increased to $300,000.

Currently, no candidate who accepts a grant from the Wisconsin election campaign fund or who files an affidavit affirming his or her voluntary compliance with statutory disbursement limitations may make contributions to his or her own campaign exceeding 200% of the limitations applicable to other individuals making contributions to his or her campaign. This bill provides, instead, that no candidate who accepts a grant from the Wisconsin election campaign fund may make contributions to his or her own campaign exceeding $1,000.

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 creates the following new prohibitions on contributions:

1. It prohibits contributions to incumbents who are seeking reelection to a partisan state office from the first Monday in January of each odd-numbered year through the enactment of the biennial budget act and, thereafter, during any floorperiod, including any special or extraordinary session floorperiod. The prohibition does not apply to contributions made to an incumbent who is subject to a recall election from the date on which the petition for a recall election is filed until the date of the recall election.

2. It prohibits any committee from making a contribution to any special interest committee. The prohibition does not apply to a committee that is affiliated with a labor organization that transfers a contribution to another committee that is affiliated with the same labor organization.

3. It prohibits any personal campaign committee or support committee authorized by a prospective candidate from making a contribution to any other such committee.

4. It prohibits any lobbyist from making a contribution to a partisan elective state official or candidate for a partisan elective state office or to such an official's or candidate's personal campaign committee, except that the bill permits a lobbyist to make a campaign contribution to a candidate for elective state office, or to the personal campaign committee of such a candidate, if the candidate seeks office in the jurisdiction or district where the lobbyist resides. Currently, a lobbyist may make a contribution to any partisan elective state official or candidate for a partisan elective state office in the year that an official or candidate seeks election between June 1 and the day of the general election.

5. It prohibits a member of the legislature, or a member's personal campaign committee, from soliciting a lobbyist or principal to arrange for another person to make a campaign contribution to that member or committee. Currently, an elective state official is prohibited from soliciting a lobbyist or principal to make a prohibited campaign contribution.

6. It prohibits any registrant from accepting any contribution made by a committee or group that does not maintain an office or street address within this state at the time that the contribution is made, unless that committee or group is registered with the federal election commission under federal law. Federal law generally requires registration and reporting by organizations only when they receive contributions or make expenditures with respect to elections for federal office.

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.

Contributions through conduits

Currently, if an individual or organization receives a political contribution consisting of money and transfers the contribution to another individual or organization without exercising discretion as to the amount to be transferred and the individual to whom or the organization to which the transfer is made, the contribution is considered to be made by the original contributor for purposes of reporting by the ultimate recipient. The contribution is also treated as an individual contribution for purposes of determining compliance with contribution limitations and qualifying contributions for public grants. The individual or organization making the transfer is called a "conduit" under the law. In most cases, a conduit is required to register and file campaign finance reports unless the conduit does not transfer any contributions to candidates or to personal campaign, legislative campaign, or political party committees.

This bill treats a contribution of money transferred by a conduit as a contribution from the conduit rather than from the individual contributor for purposes of reporting by the ultimate recipient and for purposes of determining contribution limitations and qualifying contributions for public grants. Thus, under this bill, a contribution of money that is transferred by a conduit that is a committee is included within the overall limitation on contributions that a candidate may derive from public grants and from contributions received from committees. In addition, these contributions may not be used to qualify for a public grant.

Disposition of residual or excess funds

Under current law, residual funds remaining when a person who is required to register under the campaign financing law disbands or ceases incurring obligations, making disbursements, or accepting contributions or excess funds received by a registrant that may not be legally expended may generally be used for any lawful political purpose, returned to the original contributors, or donated to a charitable organization or the common school fund.

This bill allows residual or excess funds to be transferred to the Wisconsin election campaign fund. The bill also requires residual contributions received by a personal campaign committee formed to support the campaign of a partisan state officeholder who seeks election to another office and, subsequently, decides not to run for that other office, which exceed 10% of the statutory disbursement level for the office that the candidate holds, to be either returned to the donors or transferred to the Wisconsin election campaign fund. In addition, the bill limits the amount of contributions which remain unencumbered after December 31 of an even-numbered year that a candidate for partisan state office or such a candidate's personal campaign committee may carry over from a general election campaign to another campaign to not more than10% of the candidate's disbursement level. Under the bill, contributions in excess of that amount must be transferred to the Wisconsin election campaign fund.

Wisconsin election campaign fund

Sources and uses of funds

Under current law, the Wisconsin election campaign fund is financed through an individual income tax "checkoff." Every individual filing a state income tax return who has a tax liability or is entitled to a tax refund may direct that $1 of general purpose revenue be transferred to the fund. Individuals filing a joint return may separately choose whether to direct that the $1 transfer be made. All moneys transferred to the fund are placed in accounts for specified state offices, and candidates for those offices may qualify for grants from the fund to be used for specified campaign expenses. No moneys in the fund may be used for any other purpose.

This bill:

1. Increases the amount of the individual income tax checkoff for the Wisconsin election campaign fund from $1 to $5, effective for tax returns filed for taxable years beginning on or after January 1 following the day on which the bill becomes law. Under the bill, individuals filing a joint return may separately choose whether to make the $5 checkoff. The bill also permits individuals to determine whether to designate their checkoffs for a "general account," which is distributed to all candidates who qualify for a grant, or for the account of an eligible political party, which is distributed to all candidates representing that party who qualify for a grant. However, if there are insufficient moneys in these accounts to permit any candidate who qualifies for a grant from receiving the full amount for which the candidate qualifies, the bill provides for the deficiency to be drawn from state general purpose revenue.

2. Authorizes the state elections board to set aside an amount not exceeding 5% of the moneys transferred to the Wisconsin election campaign fund in each year, before distributions are made to candidate office accounts, to provide public information concerning the purpose and effect of the fund and the income tax checkoff for the fund. As part of the public information program, the board must prepare an easily understood description of the purpose and effect of the fund and the tax checkoff. The department of revenue is required to include and highlight the description in its income tax preparation instructions related to the tax checkoff.

3. Provides that, if a grant is used to purchase an advertisement from a broadcast or communications medium, the advertisement may not include any voice other than the voice of the candidate to whom the grant is provided.

Grant eligibility requirements and amounts

Under current law, public financing from the Wisconsin election campaign fund is available to eligible candidates for the offices of state senator, representative to the assembly, governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state treasurer, secretary of state, justice of the supreme court, and superintendent of public instruction. To receive a grant, a candidate must file an application with the state elections board no later than the deadline for filing nomination papers. Following the primary election or the date on which a primary would be held, if required, the board determines whether a candidate who applies for a grant meets the following eligibility requirements:

1. If the candidate seeks a partisan state office at a general election, the candidate must have received at least 6% of the total votes cast in the primary and have won the primary. If the candidate seeks a partisan state office at a special election, the candidate must either: a) appear on the ballot or in the column of a political party whose candidate for the same office at the preceding general election received at least 6% of the vote; or b) receive at least 6% of the votes cast at the special election.

2. The candidate must have an opponent in the election.

3. The candidate must receive, during a specified time period, a specified amount through contributions from individuals of $100 or less. For a candidate for the office of governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, justice of the supreme court, or superintendent of public instruction, the amount is 5% of the authorized disbursement level for the office which the candidate seeks. For a candidate for the office of state senator or representative to the assembly, the amount is 10% of the authorized disbursement level for the office which the candidate seeks.

Under current law, a candidate for any office who accepts a grant must comply with statutorily prescribed contribution and disbursement limitations, unless at least one of the candidate's opponents who received at least 6% of the votes cast for all candidates for that office at a partisan primary, if a primary was held, does not accept a grant and does not voluntarily agree to comply with the contribution and disbursement limitations for that office. The maximum grant that a candidate may receive is that amount which, when added to all other contributions accepted from sources other than individuals, political party committees, and legislative campaign committees, is equal to 45% of the authorized disbursement level for the office which the candidate seeks.

Currently, the elections board must notify the state treasurer that a candidate has qualified to receive a grant as soon as possible after the board is able to determine that the candidate has qualified to receive the grant. The state treasurer then has three business days to transmit the grant to the candidate.

This bill:

1. Decreases the percentage of the total votes cast that a candidate for a partisan state office must receive in order to be eligible to receive a grant from the Wisconsin election campaign fund to 2% of the total votes cast in the primary election.

2. Provides that a candidate for the office of state senator or representative to the assembly must receive contributions equal to only 5% of the authorized disbursement level for the office which the candidate seeks in order to qualify for a grant, but provides that the contributions of $100 or less from individuals used by a candidate for any state office to determine eligibility for a grant from the Wisconsin election campaign fund must be made by individuals who reside in this state and, in the case of a candidate for legislative office, by individuals at least 50% of whom reside in a county having territory within the district in which the candidate seeks office.

3. Provides that a candidate who applies for a grant may not accept any contribution from any committee other than a political party committee. If the candidate has accepted any contribution from a committee other than a political party committee during the campaign for the office that the candidate is currently seeking, the candidate must return the contribution to the contributor or donate the contribution to a charitable organization or to the Wisconsin election campaign fund or the common school fund before filing an application for a grant. The candidate may, however, later accept a contribution from a committee other than a political party committee if the candidate is determined by the elections board to be ineligible to receive a grant, after the date of that determination.

4. Increases the maximum grant that a candidate for the office of justice of the supreme court or superintendent of public instruction may receive to 75% of the authorized disbursement level for the office that the candidate seeks and provides that the maximum grant that a candidate for any other state office may receive is 45% of the authorized disbursement level for the office that the candidate seeks, unless the candidate qualifies to receive a supplemental grant (see below).

5. Provides that a candidate who accepts a grant shall receive a supplemental grant in an amount equal to: a) the amount of any independent disbursements that are made to oppose that candidate, or to support that candidate's opponent, exceeding 10% of the disbursement limitation for the office that the candidate seeks; and b) the total amount of disbursements exceeding the amount of the disbursement limitation for that office made by an opposing candidate who does not accept a grant.

6. Requires the elections board and state treasurer to electronically transmit supplemental grants to qualifying candidates who so request within 24 hours after the candidates qualify to receive the supplemental grants.

Initial applicability

All campaign finance changes under the bill apply to elections held on or after the day on which the bill becomes law.

Tax credits and deductions

The bill eliminates a current state income and franchise tax deduction for certain business expenses that lobbyists incur, effective for tax returns filed for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2003. Currently, this deduction may be claimed for expenses incurred in direct connection with: 1) appearances before, submission of statements to, or sending communications to a federal, state, or local legislative body, a legislative committee, or an individual legislator with respect to legislation or proposed legislation of direct interest to a taxpayer; or 2) communications between a taxpayer and an organization of which the taxpayer is a member with respect to legislation or proposed legislation of direct interest to the taxpayer and the organization. Under the bill, dues paid to any organization remain deductible to the extent that they are attributable to expenses of these activities.

This bill also creates an income tax credit for individuals who make one or more contributions to a state or county committee or a political party or a candidate for state office who files an application for a grant from the Wisconsin election campaign fund in which the candidate agrees to be bound by disbursement and self-contribution limitations, if the application is accepted by the elections board. In order to be eligible for a credit, a contribution to a political party committee must be made to a committee of a party that qualifies for a separate ballot or column or row on the ballot, and a contribution to a candidate must be made to a candidate for office in the same jurisdiction or district in which the claimant resides. The maximum credit that may be claimed for any contribution is $50 within any taxable year; the maximum credit that may be claimed for all contributions is $100 within any taxable year. The credit is nonrefundable; no refund will be paid if the amount of the credit for which the claimant is otherwise eligible exceeds his or her tax liability.

Elections board

Under current law, the governor appoints all members of the elections board as follows: one member is selected by the governor and one member each is designated by the chief justice of the supreme court, the speaker of the assembly, the senate majority leader, the minority leader in each house of the legislature, and the chief officer of each political party qualifying for a separate ballot at the September primary whose candidate for governor at the most recent gubernatorial election received at least 10% of the vote (currently, the Republican and the Democratic parties).

This bill increases the potential number of political parties that may designate an individual to the governor for appointment to the board. Under the bill, any political party that qualified for a separate ballot at the preceding September primary may designate an individual to the governor for appointment to the board.

This bill also increases the authorized FTE positions for the board by 1.0 GPR campaign finance investigator position and 1.0 GPR auditor position.

Nonseverability

Currently, if any part of an act is found by a court to be invalid, those parts that are valid are severed from the invalid part and the severed parts continue in force. This bill provides that if any part of the act resulting from enactment of the bill relating to reporting of mass media activities, reporting of disbursements by committees acting independently of candidates and by candidates who decline to accept public grants, and provision of supplemental grants to candidates who are opposed or whose opponents are supported by those disbursements is found by a court to be invalid, then all of those parts of the act are void.

This bill will be referred to the joint survey committee on tax exemptions for a detailed analysis, which will be printed as an appendix to the bill.

For further information see the state fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

SB62, s. 1 Section 1. 5.02 (13) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB62,14,7 5.02 (13) "Political party" or "party" means a state committee registered under s. 11.05 and organized exclusively for political purposes under whose name candidates appear on a ballot at any election, and all county, congressional, legislative, local and other affiliated committees authorized to operate under the same name. For purposes of ch. 11, the term does not include a legislative campaign committee or a committee filing an oath under s. 11.06 (7).

SB62, s. 2 Section 2. 7.08 (2) (c) and (cm) of the statutes are amended to read:

SB62,14,19 7.08 (2) (c) As soon as possible after the canvass of the spring and September primary votes, but no later than the first Tuesday in March and the 4th Tuesday in September, transmit to the state treasurer a certified list of all eligible candidates for state office who have filed applications under s. 11.50 (2) and whom who the board determines to be are eligible to receive payments from the Wisconsin election campaign fund. The board shall also electronically transmit a similar list of candidates who the board determines are eligible to receive a grant under s. 11.50 (9) (b) or (ba) within 24 hours after any candidate qualifies to receive such a grant. Each list shall contain each candidate's name, the mailing address indicated upon the candidate's registration form, the office for which the individual is a candidate and the party or principle which he or she represents, if any.

SB62,15,11 (cm) As soon as possible after the canvass of a special primary, or the date that the primary would be held, if required, transmit to the state treasurer a certified list of all eligible candidates for state office who have filed applications under s. 11.50 (2) and whom who the board determines to be are eligible to receive a grant from the Wisconsin election campaign fund prior to the election. The board shall also transmit a similar list of candidates, if any, who have filed applications under s. 11.50 (2) and whom who the board determines to be are eligible to receive a grant under s. 11.50 (1) (a) 2. after the special election. The board shall electronically transmit a similar list of candidates who the board determines are eligible to receive a grant under s. 11.50 (9) (b) or (ba) within 24 hours after any candidate qualifies to receive such a grant. Each list shall contain each candidate's name, the mailing address indicated upon the candidate's registration form, the office for which the individual is a candidate and the party or principle which he or she represents, if any.

SB62, s. 3 Section 3. 7.08 (2) (cs) of the statutes is created to read:

SB62,15,15 7.08 (2) (cs) In each even-numbered year, certify to the state treasurer for the period beginning with the month following certification and ending with the month in which the next certification is made by the board:

SB62,15,19 1. No later than July 1, the name of each political party that qualifies under s. 11.50 (1) (am) 1. as an eligible political party as of the preceding June 1 and whose state chairperson has filed a request to establish an account for the party under s. 11.50 (2s) (a).

SB62,15,23 2. No later than December 15, the name of each political party that qualifies under s. 11.50 (1) (am) 2. as an eligible political party as of the date of the preceding general election and whose state chairperson has filed a written request to establish an account for the party under s. 11.50 (2s) (a).

SB62, s. 4 Section 4. 7.70 (3) (e) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:

SB62,16,6 7.70 (3) (e) 1. After each September primary, the name of each candidate not defeated in the primary who receives at least 6% 2% of the total vote cast for all candidates on all ballots at the primary for each separate state office except district attorney, and the percentage of the total vote received by that candidate. Such The percentage shall be calculated within each district in the case of legislative candidates.

SB62, s. 5 Section 5. 8.30 (2) of the statutes is amended to read: