AB37: Bill Text

LRB-1968/3

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1995 - 1996 LEGISLATURE

1995 Assembly BILL 37

January 19, 1995 - Introduced by Representatives Walker, Freese and Handrick, cosponsored by Senator Drzewiecki. Referred to Committee on Elections and Constitutional Law.

AB37,1,5 An Act to repeal 11.26 (9) (a) and 11.26 (9) (c); to renumber and amend 11.12 (6), 11.26 (9) (b) and 11.50 (9); to amend 11.06 (1) (a), 11.19 (1), 11.26 (13) and 25.42; and to create 11.01 (14), 11.05 (3) (m), 11.095, 11.12 (6) (b), 11.26 (8m), 11.30 (6), 11.31 (3n), 11.385 and 11.395 of the statutes; relating to: various changes in the campaign finance law.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

This bill makes numerous changes in the campaign financing law. Significant changes include:

1. 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. Current law also requires a committee or individual making disbursements independently of a candidate in support of or in opposition to a candidate for a state or local office to inform the appropriate filing officer within 24 hours of making such a disbursement, if the cumulative amount of such disbursements made by the committee or individual later than 15 days prior to a primary or election exceeds $20. The bill authorizes a candidate to make disbursements exceeding statutory disbursement limits to the extent of independently incurred obligations and disbursements in opposition to his or her candidacy or in support of his or her opponent, if the obligations and disbursements exceed $250 cumulatively. The bill also 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 a committee which or an individual who makes disbursements or incurs obligations independently of a candidate to inform the appropriate filing officer no later than 21 days (14 days in the case of a primary or election that is not held concurrently with the spring or September primary or spring or general election) prior to the activity which the committee or individual intends to fund with cumulative disbursements or obligations of more than $250.

2. Current law limits the total contributions that a candidate for state or local office may accept from all political committees, including political party and legislative campaign committees, and from the Wisconsin election campaign fund to 65% of the value of the statutory disbursement level specified for the office which the candidate seeks. The total amount that a candidate may accept from committees other than political party and legislative campaign committees and from the Wisconsin election campaign fund is limited to 45% of that disbursement level. The bill:

a. Repeals the limitation on total contributions that a candidate may accept from all committees, including political party and legislative campaign committees, of 65% of the disbursement level for the office which the candidate seeks.

b. Decreases the limitation on total contributions that a candidate may accept from committees other than political party and legislative campaign committees from 45% of the disbursement level for the office which the candidate seeks to 33% of the disbursement level for that office. However, the bill does not change the limitation on the total grant that a candidate for state office may receive from the Wisconsin election campaign fund. Under the bill, grants from the Wisconsin election campaign fund are not subject to the 33% limitation.

3. The bill creates the following new prohibitions concerning political contributions:

a. The bill prohibits any individual or committee from making or transferring a contribution to an individual who is a candidate for a partisan state office which the individual holds at the time that the contribution is made or transferred, or to the personal campaign or authorized support committee of such a candidate, if the contribution is made in connection with any fund-raising event held in Dane County during the period between the first Monday in January of each odd-numbered year and the date of enactment of the biennial budget act. The prohibition does not apply to a contribution made to any individual who is a candidate for the office of district attorney or who represents a legislative district that is wholly or partly contained within Dane County, or to the personal campaign or authorized support committee of such an individual.

Currently, there is no restriction on the periods during which or the places in which such contributions may be made.

b. The bill prohibits a special interest ("political action") committee from making any contribution or contributions to another such committee exceeding $5,000 within any biennial period starting on January 1 of an odd-numbered year and ending on December 31 of the following even-numbered year. The limitation does not apply to a nonresident committee to the extent that the committee receives contributions from a resident committee in the same biennium.

Violations are punishable by a forfeiture (civil penalty) of up to treble the amount of the contribution. Intentional violations are punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than 6 months or both (a misdemeanor).

4. Under current law, a "conduit" is an individual or organization that receives a contribution and transfers the contribution to another individual or organization without exercising discretion as to the amount that is transferred and the individual to whom or the organization to which the transfer is made. The campaign financing reports filed by the candidate identify only the original contributor, not the conduit. The bill requires the campaign financing reports filed by candidates to identify any conduit from whom a contribution is received, as well as the original contributor.

5. 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 may be used for any lawful political purpose, returned to the original contributors or donated to a charitable organization or the common school fund. The bill allows residual funds remaining when a registrant disbands or ceases incurring obligations, making disbursements or accepting contributions to be transferred to the Wisconsin election campaign fund.

6. The bill requires any paid telephone bank operator who or which contacts more than one potential voter for the purpose of asking any question concerning the preferences of the potential voters with respect to any candidate, political party or issue of public concern in relation to an election, or to present any information or viewpoint with respect to any candidate, political party or issue of public concern in relation to an election, to file a report with the elections board containing the text of any substantially identical question asked or statement made by the operator no later than 24 hours before the time that the operator makes more than one contact. The report must also include the names and addresses of the operator and the person who retained the operator, the election with respect to which the telephoning is conducted, and if the telephoning is not conducted on a statewide basis, the name of each jurisdiction or district within which the telephoning is conducted. Currently, there is no such requirement.

7. The bill requires any person who publishes, distributes or broadcasts a communication which advocates the election or defeat of a candidate for state or local office independently of any candidate who is supported or whose opponent is opposed to file with the state elections board a copy of the text of the communication no later than 24 hours before the time that the communication is first published, distributed or broadcast. Currently, there is no such requirement.

8. The bill prohibits any deduction from being made by an employer, or from being received by an employer or an employe organization, from the wages or reimbursements or allowances for expenses payable to an employe for the purpose of making or transferring a political contribution to a special interest ("political action") committee in connection with a state or local election, unless the employe specifically authorizes the deduction in writing and the authorization is revocable by similar means. Currently, there is no such restriction.

With the exception of unlawful contributions, violations of the prohibitions or requirements created by the bill are punishable by a forfeiture (civil penalty) of not more than $500 for each offense. Intentional violations are punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both, for each offense (a misdemeanor).

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

AB37, s. 1 Section 1. 11.01 (14) of the statutes is created to read:

AB37,4,4 11.01 (14) "Partisan state office" means the office of governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, state senator, state representative to the assembly or district attorney.

AB37, s. 2 Section 2. 11.05 (3) (m) of the statutes is created to read:

AB37,4,8 11.05 (3) (m) In the case of a personal campaign committee, the name of the candidate on whose behalf the committee was formed or intends to operate and the office or offices that the candidate seeks.

AB37, s. 3 Section 3. 11.06 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB37,4,15 11.06 (1) (a) An itemized statement giving the date, full name and street address of each contributor who has made a contribution in excess of $20, or whose contribution if $20 or less aggregates more than $20 for the calendar year, together with the amount of the contribution and the cumulative total contributions made by that contributor for the calendar year and, if the contributor made the contribution through a conduit, the identity of the conduit.

AB37, s. 4 Section 4. 11.095 of the statutes is created to read:

AB37,4,19 11.095 Regulation of certain telephoning activities. (1) In this section, "telephone bank operator" means any person who, for remuneration, places or directs the placement of telephone calls to individuals.

AB37,5,18 (2) Each telephone bank operator who or which contacts, by telephone, more than one potential voter for the purpose of asking questions concerning the preferences of the potential voters with respect to any candidate, political party or issue of public concern in relation to an election or to present any information or viewpoint with respect to any candidate, political party or issue of public concern in relation to an election shall file a report with the board containing the text of any substantially identical question asked or statement made by the operator to more than one potential voter, in such a manner that the board receives the report no later than 24 hours before the time that the operator makes an initial contact with more than one potential voter during which the question is asked or the statement is made. The report shall include the name and address of the telephone bank operator; the name and address of the individual, committee or group who or which retained the telephone bank operator; the name and date of the election with respect to which the telephoning is conducted; and if the telephoning is not conducted on a statewide basis, the name of each jurisdiction or district within which the telephoning is conducted. No person is required to file a report required under this section containing any information that has been previously filed by that person or another person.

AB37, s. 5 Section 5. 11.12 (6) of the statutes is renumbered 11.12 (6) (a) and amended to read:

AB37,6,15 11.12 (6) (a) If any Except as provided in par. (b), if an individual or committee incurs or intends to incur an obligation or makes or intends to make a disbursement of more than $20 $250 cumulatively is made to advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate by an individual or committee later than 15 days prior to a primary or election in which the candidate's name appears on the ballot without cooperation or consultation with a candidate or agent or authorized committee of a candidate who is supported or whose opponent is opposed, and not in concert with or at the request or suggestion of such a candidate, agent or committee, the individual or treasurer of the committee shall, within 24 hours of making no later than 21 days prior to the activity intended to be funded by the incurred obligation or disbursement, inform the appropriate filing officer of the information required under s. 11.06 (1) in such manner as the board may prescribe. The information shall also be included in the next regular report of the individual or committee under s. 11.20. For purposes of this subsection, obligations and disbursements cumulate beginning with the day after the last date covered on the preprimary or preelection report and ending with the day before the primary or election. Upon receipt of a report under this subsection paragraph, the filing officer shall, within 24 hours of receipt, mail a copy of the report to all candidates for any office in support of or opposition to one of whom a an incurred obligation or disbursement identified in the report is to be made.

AB37, s. 6 Section 6. 11.12 (6) (b) of the statutes is created to read:

AB37,6,23 11.12 (6) (b) If the independently incurred obligation or disbursement described in par. (a) relates to a special primary or election not held concurrently with the spring or September primary or the spring or general election, the individual who or committee which incurs or intends to incur the obligation or makes or intends to make the disbursement shall inform the appropriate filing officer no later than 14 days prior to the activity intended to be funded by the incurred obligation or disbursement.

AB37, s. 7 Section 7. 11.19 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB37,7,15 11.19 (1) Whenever any registrant disbands or determines that obligations will no longer be incurred, and contributions will no longer be received nor disbursements made during a calendar year, and the registrant has no outstanding incurred obligations, the registrant shall file a termination report with the appropriate filing officer. Such report shall indicate a cash balance on hand of zero at the end of the reporting period and shall indicate the disposition of residual funds. Residual funds may be used for any political purpose not prohibited by law, returned to the donors in an amount not exceeding the original contribution, transferred to the board for crediting to the Wisconsin election campaign fund, or donated to a charitable organization or the common school fund. The report shall be filed and certified as were previous reports, and shall contain the information required by s. 11.06 (1). If a termination report or suspension report under sub. (2) is not filed, the registrant shall continue to file periodic reports with the appropriate filing officer, no later than the dates specified in s. 11.20. This subsection does not apply to any registrant making an indication under s. 11.05 (2r).

AB37, s. 8 Section 8. 11.26 (8m) of the statutes is created to read:

AB37,8,3 11.26 (8m) No committee, other than a personal campaign committee, support committee under s. 11.18, political party committee or legislative campaign committee, may make any contribution or contributions, directly or indirectly, to another committee, other than a personal campaign committee, support committee under s. 11.18, political party committee or legislative campaign committee exceeding a total of $5,000 in value in any biennium. This limitation does not apply to any contribution or contributions made by a committee which does not maintain an address within this state, to the extent that the committee receives any contribution or contributions in a corresponding amount from a committee which maintains an address in this state in the same biennium. In this subsection, a biennium commences with January 1 of each odd-numbered year and ends with December 31 of the following even-numbered year.

AB37, s. 9 Section 9. 11.26 (9) (a) of the statutes is repealed.

AB37, s. 10 Section 10. 11.26 (9) (b) of the statutes is renumbered 11.26 (9) and amended to read:

AB37,8,11 11.26 (9) No individual who is a candidate for state or local office may receive and accept more than 45% 33% of the value of the total disbursement level, as determined under s. 11.31 (1), 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.

AB37, s. 11 Section 11. 11.26 (9) (c) of the statutes is repealed.

AB37, s. 12 Section 12. 11.26 (13) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB37,8,16 11.26 (13) Except as provided in sub. (9), contributions Contributions received from the Wisconsin election campaign fund are not subject to limitation by this section.

AB37, s. 13 Section 13. 11.30 (6) of the statutes is created to read: