11.23 (2) Any anonymous contribution exceeding $10 received by an individual or group treasurer may not be used or expended. The contribution shall be donated to the common school fund or to any charitable organization at the option of the treasurer.
11.26 (1) (intro.) No individual may make any contribution or contributions to a candidate for election or nomination to any of the following offices and to any individual or committee under s. 11.06 (7) acting solely in support of such a candidate or solely in opposition to the candidate's opponent to the extent of more than a total of the amounts specified per candidate:
11.26 (2) (intro.) No committee other than a political party committee or legislative campaign committee may make any contribution or contributions to a candidate for election or nomination to any of the following offices and to any individual or committee under s. 11.06 (7) acting solely in support of such a candidate or solely in opposition to the candidate's opponent to the extent of more than a total of the amounts specified per candidate:
11.26 (2) (a) Candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, state superintendent or justice, 4 percent of the value of the disbursement level specified in the schedule under s. 11.31 (1).
11.26 (3) The contribution limitations of subs. (1) and (2) apply cumulatively to the entire primary and election campaign in which a candidate participates, whether or not there is a contested primary election. The total limitation may be apportioned in any manner desired between the primary and election. All moneys cumulate regardless of the time of contribution.
11.26 (4) No individual may make any contribution or contributions to all candidates for state and local offices and to any individuals who or committees which are subject to a registration requirement under s. 11.05, including legislative campaign committees and committees of a political party, to the extent of more than a total of $10,000 in any calendar year.
11.26 (5) The contribution limits provided in subs. (1) and (4) do not apply to a candidate who makes any contribution or contributions to his or her own campaign for office from the candidate's personal funds or property or the personal funds or property which are owned jointly or as marital property with the candidate's spouse, with respect to any contribution or contributions made to that candidate's campaign only. A candidate's personal contributions shall be deposited in his or her campaign depository account and reported in the normal manner.
11.26 (6) When a candidate adopts a preexisting support committee as his or her personal campaign committee, the support committee is deemed to have been the same committee as the candidate's personal campaign committee for purposes of the application of subs. (1), (2) and (9). The limitations prescribed in subs. (2) and (9) do not apply to the transfer of contributions which is made at the time of such adoption, but do apply to the contributions which have been made by any other committee to the support committee at the time of adoption.
11.26 (8) (a) No political party as defined in s. 5.02 (13) may receive more than a total of $150,000 in value of its contributions in any biennium from all other committees, excluding contributions from legislative campaign committees and transfers between party committees of the party. In this paragraph, a biennium commences with January 1 of each odd-numbered year and ends with December 31 of each even-numbered year.
(b) No such political party may receive more than a total of $6,000 in value of its contributions in any calendar year from any specific committee or its subunits or affiliates, excluding legislative campaign and political party committees.
(c) No committee, other than a political party or legislative campaign committee, may make any contribution or contributions, directly or indirectly, to a political party under s. 5.02 (13) in a calendar year exceeding a total value of $6,000.
11.26 (9) (a) No individual who is a candidate for state or local office may receive and accept more than 65 percent of the value of the total disbursement level determined under s. 11.31 for the office for which he or she is a candidate during any primary and election campaign combined from all committees subject to a filing requirement, including political party and legislative campaign committees.
11.26 (9) (b) No individual who is a candidate for state or local office may receive and accept more than 45 percent of the value of the total disbursement level determined under s. 11.31 for the office for which he or she is a candidate during any primary and election campaign combined from all committees other than political party and legislative campaign committees subject to a filing requirement.
11.26
(10) No candidate for state office who files a sworn statement and application to receive a grant from the Wisconsin election campaign fund may make contributions of more than 200 percent of the amounts specified in sub. (1) to the candidate's own campaign from the candidate's personal funds or property or the personal funds or property which are owned jointly or as marital property with the candidate's spouse, unless the board determines that the candidate is not eligible to receive a grant, the candidate withdraws his or her application under s. 11.50 (2) (h), or s. 11.50 (2) (i) applies. For purposes of this subsection, any contribution received by a candidate or his or her personal campaign committee from a committee which is registered with the federal elections commission as the authorized committee of the candidate under
2 USC 432 (e) shall be treated as a contribution made by the candidate to his or her own campaign. The contribution limit of sub. (4) applies to amounts contributed by such a candidate personally to the candidate's own campaign and to other campaigns, except that a candidate may exceed the limitation if authorized under this subsection to contribute more than the amount specified to the candidate's own campaign, up to the amount of the limitation.
11.26 (15) The fact that 2 or more committees, other than personal campaign committees, utilize common policies and practices concerning the endorsement of candidates or agree to make contributions only to such endorsed candidates does not affect the right of each committee independently to make contributions up to the amount specified under sub. (2).
11.26 (17) (a) For purposes of application of the limitations imposed in subs. (1), (2), (9) and (10), the "campaign" of a candidate begins and ends at the times specified in this subsection.
177,92
Section
92. 11.265 of the statutes is created to read:
11.265 Legislative campaign committees.
(1) No more than one legislative campaign committee may be established by the members of one political party in each house of the legislature.
(2) A legislative campaign committee may accept no contributions and make no contributions or disbursements exceeding the amounts authorized for a political party under this chapter.
(3) Amounts contributed by a legislative campaign committee to a political party are not subject to limitation by this chapter.
11.31 (1) Schedule. (intro.) The following levels of disbursements are established with reference to the candidates listed below. Except as provided in sub. (2), such levels do not operate to restrict the total amount of disbursements which are made or authorized to be made by any candidate in any primary or other election.
11.31 (1) (a) Candidates for governor, $1,078,200.
(b) Candidates for lieutenant governor, $323,475.
(c) Candidates for attorney general, $539,000.
(d) Candidates for secretary of state, state treasurer, justice or state superintendent, $215,625.
11.31 (1) (e) Candidates for state senator, $34,500 total in the primary and election, with disbursements not exceeding $21,575 for either the primary or the election.
(f) Candidates for representative to the assembly, $17,250 total in the primary and election, with disbursements not exceeding $10,775 for either the primary or the election.
11.31 (2) Limitation imposed. No candidate for state office at a spring or general election who files a sworn statement and application to receive a grant from the Wisconsin election campaign fund may make or authorize total disbursements from the campaign treasury in any campaign to the extent of more than the amount prescribed in sub. (1), unless the board determines that the candidate is not eligible to receive a grant, the candidate withdraws his or her application under s. 11.50 (2) (h), or s. 11.50 (2) (i) applies. No candidate for state office at a special election who files a sworn statement and application to receive a grant from the Wisconsin election campaign fund may make or authorize total disbursements from the campaign treasury in any campaign to the extent of more than the amount prescribed under sub. (1) for the preceding spring or general election for the same office, unless the board determines that the candidate is not eligible to receive a grant, the candidate withdraws his or her application under s. 11.50 (2) (h), or s. 11.50 (2) (i) applies.
11.31 (2m) Voluntary limitation. Any candidate to whom sub. (2) and s. 11.26 (10) do not apply may file an affidavit with his or her filing officer affirming that he or she has adhered and will adhere to the limitations imposed under sub. (2) and s. 11.26 during the entire campaign. These limitations apply unless the candidate withdraws the affidavit by notifying his or her filing officer in writing no later than the 7th day after the date of the primary in which the person filing the affidavit is a candidate, or the 7th day after the date that the primary would be held, if no primary is required.
11.31 (3) Gubernatorial campaigns. For purposes of compliance with the limitations imposed under sub. (2), candidates for governor and lieutenant governor of the same political party who both accept grants from the Wisconsin election campaign fund may agree to combine disbursement levels under sub. (1) (a) and (b) and reallocate the total level between them. The candidates shall each inform the board of any such agreement.
11.38 (1) (a) 2. Notwithstanding subd. 1., any such corporation or association may establish and administer a separate segregated fund and solicit contributions from individuals to the fund to be utilized by such corporation or association, for the purpose of supporting or opposing any candidate for state or local office but the corporation or association may not make any contribution to the fund. The fund shall appoint a treasurer and shall register as a political committee under s. 11.05. A parent corporation or association engaging solely in this activity is not subject to registration under s. 11.05, but shall register and file special reports on forms prescribed by the board disclosing its administrative and solicitation expenses on behalf of such fund. A corporation not domiciled in this state need report only its expenses for administration and solicitation of contributions in this state together with a statement indicating where information concerning other administration and solicitation expenses of its fund may be obtained. The reports shall be filed with the filing officer for the fund specified in s. 11.02 in the manner in which continuing reports are filed under s. 11.20 (4) and (8).
11.38 (6) Any individual or campaign treasurer who receives funds in violation of this section shall promptly return such funds to the contributor or donate the funds to the common school fund or a charitable organization, at the treasurer's option.
11.38 (8) (b) Except as authorized in s. 11.05 (12) (b) and (13), prior to making any disbursement on behalf of a political group which is promoting or opposing a particular vote at a referendum and prior to accepting any contribution or making any disbursement to promote or oppose a particular vote at a referendum, a corporation or association organized under ch. 185 shall register with the appropriate filing officer specified in s. 11.02 and appoint a treasurer. The registration form of the corporation or association under s. 11.05 shall designate an account separate from all other corporation or association accounts as a campaign depository account, through which all moneys received or expended for the adoption or rejection of the referendum shall pass. The corporation or association shall file periodic reports under s. 11.20 providing the information required under s. 11.06 (1).
11.50 (1) (a) 2. With respect to a special election, an individual who is certified under s. 8.50 (1) (d) as a candidate in a special election for state superintendent, or an individual who is certified under s. 8.50 (1) (d) as a candidate in a special election for any state office, except district attorney, on the ballot or column of a party whose candidate for the same office at the preceding general election received at least 6 percent of the vote cast for all candidates on all ballots for the office, or an individual who has been lawfully appointed and certified to replace either such individual on the ballot at a special election, or an individual who receives at least 6 percent of the vote cast for all candidates on all ballots for any state office, except district attorney, at a partisan special election; and who qualifies for a grant under sub. (2). Where the boundaries of a district in which an individual seeks office have been changed since the preceding general election such that it is not possible to calculate the exact number of votes that are needed by that individual to qualify as an eligible candidate prior to an election under this subdivision, the number of votes cast for all candidates for the office at the preceding general election in each ward, combination of wards or municipality which is wholly contained within the boundaries of the newly formed district shall be calculated. If the candidate of the political party on whose ballot or column the individual appears in the newly formed district obtained at least 6 percent of the number of votes calculated, the individual is deemed to qualify as an eligible candidate prior to the election under this subdivision.
11.50 (2) (a) Any individual who desires to qualify as an eligible candidate may file an application with the board requesting approval to participate in the fund. The application shall be filed no later than the applicable deadline for filing nomination papers under s. 8.10 (2) (a), 8.15 (1), 8.20 (8) (a) or 8.50 (3) (a), no later than 4:30 p.m. on the 7th day after the primary or date on which the primary would be held if required in the case of write-in candidates, or no later than 4:30 p.m. on the 7th day after appointment in the case of candidates appointed to fill vacancies. The application shall contain a sworn statement that the candidate and his or her authorized agents have complied with the contribution limitations prescribed in s. 11.26 and the disbursement limitations prescribed under s. 11.31 at all times to which such limitations have applied to his or her candidacy and will continue to comply with the limitations at all times to which the limitations apply to his or her candidacy for the office in contest, unless the board determines that the candidate is not eligible to receive a grant, the candidate withdraws his or her application under par. (h), or par. (i) applies.
11.50 (2) (b) 3. The candidate has an opponent who is certified for placement on the election ballot as a candidate for the same office;
11.50 (2) (b) 4. The financial reports filed by or on behalf of the candidate as of the date of the spring or September primary, or the date that the special primary is or would be held, if required, indicate that his or her statement filed with the application under par. (a) is true; and
11.50 (2) (b) 5. The financial reports filed by or on behalf of the candidate as of the date of the spring or September primary, or the date that the special primary is or would be held, if required, indicate that the candidate has received at least the amount provided in this subdivision, from contributions of money, other than loans, made by individuals, which have been received during the period ending on the date of the spring primary and July 1 preceding such date in the case of candidates at the spring election, or the date of the September primary and January 1 preceding such date in the case of candidates at the general election, or the date that a special primary will or would be held, if required, and 90 days preceding such date or the date a special election is ordered, whichever is earlier, in the case of special election candidates, which contributions are in the aggregate amount of $100 or less, and which are fully identified and itemized as to the exact source thereof. A contribution received from a conduit which is identified by the conduit as originating from an individual shall be considered a contribution made by the individual. Only the first $100 of an aggregate contribution of more than $100 may be counted toward the required percentage. For a candidate at the spring or general election for an office identified in s. 11.26 (1) (a) or a candidate at a special election, the required amount to qualify for a grant is 5 percent of the candidate's authorized disbursement limitation under s. 11.31. For any other candidate at the general election, the required amount to qualify for a grant is 10 percent of the candidate's authorized disbursement limitation under s. 11.31.
11.50 (2) (c) If a candidate has not filed financial reports as of the date of the spring primary, September primary, special primary, or date that the special primary would be held, if required, which indicate that he or she has met the qualification under par. (b) 5., the candidate may file a special report with the board. Such report shall be filed not later than the 7th day after the primary, or 7th day after the date the primary would be held, if required, and shall include such supplementary information as to sources of contributions which may be necessary to complete the candidate's qualification. The special report shall cover the period from the day after the last date covered on the candidate's most recent report, or from the date on which the first contribution was received or the first disbursement was made, whichever is earlier, if the candidate has not previously filed a report, to the date of such report. All information included on the special report shall also be included in the candidate's next report under s. 11.20.
