AB303: Bill Text

Currently, a candidate for the office of justice of the supreme court may qualify to receive a grant from the Wisconsin election campaign fund for use in only an election campaign. No funding is provided for primary campaigns. To qualify for a grant, a candidate must qualify to have his or her name appear on the spring election ballot and must have an opponent who qualifies to have his or her name appear on that ballot. The maximum amount of a grant that a candidate may receive is $97,031. This amount is not subject to any cost of living adjustment. In addition, this amount is reduced by the total amount of contributions received by a candidate from special interest and personal campaign committees, and this amount may not be fully funded in a particular year if there are not sufficient moneys in the Wisconsin election campaign fund to provide full financing for all qualifying candidates. A candidate must agree to abide by spending and self-contribution limits to receive a grant, but this agreement does not apply if the candidate has an opponent who could have qualified for a grant but declines to do so and declines to file an affidavit of voluntary compliance with spending and self-contribution limits.

Under this bill, a candidate for the office of justice of the supreme court may qualify for a public financing benefit from the democracy trust fund to finance a campaign in a primary or election by receiving qualifying contributions from at least 500 residents of this state in amounts of not less than $10 nor more than $100. A candidate who accepts a public financing benefit may accept "seed money" contributions in amounts of $100 or less and may contribute personal funds in an aggregate amount not exceeding $5,000 during specified periods. With limited exceptions, a candidate who accepts a public financing benefit may not accept any contributions other than qualifying and seed money contributions, including contributions from personal funds. Disbursements (expenditures) made by a candidate from qualifying and seed money contributions may not exceed $25,000. If a candidate who accepts a public financing benefit receives qualifying and seed money contributions in a total amount greater than $25,000, the candidate must remit the excess contributions to the elections board for deposit in the democracy trust fund. Initial public financing benefits for eligible candidates are $100,000 in the spring primary and $300,000 in the spring election. The benefits are subject to a biennial cost of living adjustment, beginning in 2004, in accordance with the rate of increase or decrease in the "consumer price index," as determined by the U.S. department of labor, with the result in turn adjusted by the rate of increase or decrease in the voting age population of this state, as determined by the federal election commission. The bill provides that if a candidate for the office of justice has an unencumbered balance in his or her campaign depository account on the day the bill becomes law, that candidate may make disbursements from that balance for his or her campaign, but an amount equal to the balance is deducted from the candidate's public financing benefit.

In addition, if a candidate's opponent declines to accept a public financing benefit and accepts contributions or makes disbursements in a total amount that exceeds the amount of the initial public financing benefit for a candidate who accepts a public financing benefit, the candidate who accepts a public financing benefit receives additional funding equivalent to the excess contributions accepted or disbursements made by his or her opponent. The funding is determined on the basis of information provided by candidates who decline to accept public financing benefits. Under the bill, these candidates must file reports with the board disclosing their total contributions accepted and disbursements made. A candidate who receives a public financing benefit also receives additional funding equivalent to independent expenditures for communications exceeding $2,000 cumulatively for certain communications made against the candidate or in support of his or her opponents if those expenditures exceed 20% of the amount of the public financing benefit for the office of justice. The bill defines "independent expenditure" to include only those expenditures made independently of a candidate for the office of justice for communications that contain a reference to such a candidate and that are made during the period beginning 30 days before the spring primary and ending on the date of the spring election (or during the last 60 days before the spring election if no primary is held). The bill requires persons who make communications financed with independent expenditures to file reports with the board disclosing the amounts expended for those expenditures. Under the bill, additional funding may not exceed three times the amount of the initial public financing benefit.

Currently, individuals and committees making political contributions to candidates for the office of justice of the supreme court are subject to limitations on the amount or value of any contribution or contributions that may be made cumulatively to any candidate in a campaign. The limitations are $10,000 in the case of an individual making any contribution or contributions to a candidate and $8,625 in the case of a committee making any contribution or contributions to a candidate. This bill replaces these limitations with a contribution limitation of $5,000 applicable to an individual or committee making any contribution or contributions to a candidate for the office of justice. Because, under the bill, a candidate who accepts a public financing benefit is subject to more restrictive provisions in most cases, the limitations generally apply only to contributions made to a candidate who declines to accept a public financing benefit.

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:

AB303, s. 1 Section 1. 5.05 (1) (e) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB303,4,5 5.05 (1) (e) Delegate to its executive director the authority to issue a subpoena under par. (b), apply for a search warrant under par. (b), commence an action under par. (d), intervene in an action or proceeding under sub. (9), issue an order under s. 5.06, exempt a polling place from accessibility requirements under s. 5.25 (4) (a), exempt a municipality from the requirement to use voting machines or an electronic voting system under s. 5.40 (5m), approve an electronic data recording system for maintaining poll lists under s. 6.79, or authorize nonappointment of an individual who is nominated to serve as an election official under s. 7.30 (4) (e), or make a determination concerning the nature of an independent expenditure under s. 11.513 (4), subject to such limitations as the board deems appropriate.

AB303, s. 2 Section 2. 8.35 (4) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB303,4,16 8.35 (4) (b) Notwithstanding par. (a), any unspent and unencumbered moneys received by a candidate from the Wisconsin election campaign fund shall be immediately transferred to any candidate who is appointed to replace such candidate, upon filing of a proper application therefor under s. 11.50 (2). If there is no candidate appointed or if no proper application is filed within 7 days of the date on which the vacancy occurs, such moneys shall revert to the state as provided in s. 11.50 (8). Notwithstanding par. (a), any unspent and unencumbered moneys received by a candidate from the democracy trust fund shall be immediately transferred to any candidate who is appointed to replace such candidate. If there is no candidate appointed, the moneys shall revert to the state.

AB303, s. 3 Section 3. 11.001 (2m) of the statutes is created to read:

AB303,5,13 11.001 (2m) The declarations of policy and intent in this section have particular application in elections for the office of justice. The legislature finds that an independent, elected judiciary is an indispensable part of state government, and it is essential that the public have confidence in the absolute integrity of the nonpartisan judiciary in general and the supreme court in particular, which has supervisory authority over the judiciary. To the extent consistent with the state and federal constitutions, judicial elections should be free from both partisan and financial influence, including even the suggestion that a judicial candidate is associated with a committee, group, or cause other than the candidate's own personal campaign committee. Ethical constraints may limit the ability of judicial candidates to engage in fund raising, and candidates who are incumbent judges may have limited ability to discuss cases in which they have been involved. The legislature finds, therefore, that there is a compelling justification for public financing of campaigns for the office of justice, to help remove even the appearance of impropriety from the electoral process. The legislature further finds a compelling justification for minimal disclosure of all communications made near the time of an election that include the name or likeness of a candidate for the office of justice to allow increased funding for such candidates based upon independent expenditures. This minimal disclosure burden is outweighed by the need to establish an effective funding mechanism for candidates for the office of justice to effectively respond to independent expenditures that may impact an election for that office.

AB303, s. 4 Section 4. 11.16 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB303,5,21 11.16 (2) Limitation on cash contributions. Every Except as provided in s. 11.506 (6), every contribution of money exceeding $50 shall be made by negotiable instrument or evidenced by an itemized credit card receipt bearing on the face the name of the remitter. No treasurer may accept a contribution made in violation of this subsection. The treasurer shall promptly return the contribution, or donate it to the common school fund or to a charitable organization in the event that the donor cannot be identified.

AB303, s. 5 Section 5. 11.26 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB303,5,24 11.26 (1) (a) Candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, or state superintendent or justice, $10,000.

AB303, s. 6 Section 6. 11.26 (1) (am) of the statutes is created to read:

AB303,6,1 11.26 (1) (am) Candidates for justice, $5,000.

AB303, s. 7 Section 7. 11.26 (2) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB303,6,5 11.26 (2) (a) Candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, or state superintendent or justice, 4% of the value of the disbursement level specified in the schedule under s. 11.31 (1).

AB303, s. 8 Section 8. 11.26 (2) (am) of the statutes is created to read:

AB303,6,7 11.26 (2) (am) Candidates for justice, $5,000.

AB303, s. 9 Section 9. 11.26 (9) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB303,6,14 11.26 (9) (a) No Except as provided in par. (ba), no individual who is a candidate for state or local office may receive and accept more than 65% 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.

AB303, s. 10 Section 10. 11.26 (9) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB303,6,21 11.26 (9) (b) No Except as provided in par. (ba), no individual who is a candidate for state or local office may receive and accept more than 45% 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.

AB303, s. 11 Section 11. 11.26 (9) (ba) of the statutes is created to read:

AB303,6,24 11.26 (9) (ba) Paragraphs (a) and (b) do not apply to a candidate who receives a public financing benefit from the democracy trust fund.

AB303, s. 12 Section 12. 11.26 (13) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB303,7,3 11.26 (13) Except Public financing benefits received from the democracy trust fund and, except as provided in sub. (9), contributions received from the Wisconsin election campaign fund are not subject to limitation by this section.

AB303, s. 13 Section 13. 11.27 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB303,7,8 11.27 (1) No person may prepare or submit a false report or statement to a filing officer under this chapter. This subsection does not apply to any information reported by a person making an independent expenditure, as defined in s. 11.501 (10), under s. 11.513 (2) (b).

AB303, s. 14 Section 14. 11.31 (1) (d) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB303,7,11 11.31 (1) (d) Candidates for secretary of state, state treasurer, justice or state superintendent, $215,625.

AB303, s. 15 Section 15. 11.50 (1) (a) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB303,7,20 11.50 (1) (a) 1. With respect to a spring or general election, any individual who is certified under s. 7.08 (2) (a) as a candidate in the spring election for justice or state superintendent, or an individual who receives at least 6% of the vote cast for all candidates on all ballots for any state office, except district attorney, for which the individual is a candidate at the September primary and who is certified under s. 7.08 (2) (a) as a candidate for that office in the general election, or an individual who has been lawfully appointed and certified to replace either such individual on the ballot at the spring or general election; and who has qualified for a grant under sub. (2).

AB303, s. 16 Section 16. 11.50 (3) (a) 2. of the statutes is repealed.

AB303, s. 17 Section 17. 11.50 (3) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB303,8,4 11.50 (3) (b) If a vacancy occurs in the office of state superintendent or justice after August 15 in any year, and an election is scheduled to fill the vacancy at the spring election in the following year, the state treasurer shall transfer an amount not exceeding 8% of the moneys transferred to the fund on the preceding August 15 to the superintendency account for the office in which the vacancy occurs, such moneys to be drawn from any account within the accounts created under sub. (4) in the amount or amounts specified by the board.

AB303, s. 18 Section 18. 11.501 to 11.518 of the statutes are created to read:

AB303,8,6 11.501 Definitions. In ss. 11.501 to 11.518:

AB303,8,8 (1) "Business day" means every day except Saturday, Sunday, and a holiday designated in s. 230.35 (4) (a).

AB303,8,9 (2) "Campaign" has the meaning given in s. 11.26 (17).

AB303,8,14 (2m) "Communication" means a message transmitted by means of a printed advertisement, billboard, handbill, sample ballot, radio or television advertisement, telephone call, or any medium that may be utilized for the purpose of disseminating or broadcasting a message, but not including a poll conducted solely for the purpose of identifying or collecting data concerning the attitudes or preferences of electors.

AB303,8,17 (3) "Election campaign period" means the period beginning on the day after the spring primary election or the day on which a primary election would be held, if required, and ending on the day of the succeeding spring election.

AB303,8,18 (4) "Eligible candidate" means a candidate for the office of justice who:

AB303,8,20 (a) Has an opponent who has qualified to have his or her name certified for placement on the ballot at the spring primary or election.

AB303,8,23 (b) Qualifies for a public financing benefit by collecting the required number of qualifying contributions, making all required reports and disclosures, and being certified by the board as being in compliance with ss. 11.502 to 11.518.

AB303,9,3 (7) "Exploratory period" means the period that begins after the date of a spring election and ends on the first day of the public financing qualifying period for the next election for justice.

AB303,9,5 (9) "Immediate family," when used with reference to a candidate, includes the candidate's spouse and children.

AB303,9,14 (10) "Independent expenditure" means an expenditure made for the purpose of making a communication that is made during the 30-day period preceding any spring primary for the office of justice and the date of the spring election, or if no primary is held, during the 60-day period preceding the spring election; that contains a reference to a clearly identified candidate for the office of justice at that election; that is made without cooperation or consultation with such a candidate, or any authorized committee or agent of such a candidate; and that is not made in concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, such a candidate, or any authorized committee or agent of such a candidate.

AB303,9,17 (12) "Nonparticipating candidate" means a candidate for the office of justice who does not apply for a public financing benefit or who otherwise is ineligible or fails to qualify for a public financing benefit under ss. 11.502 to 11.518.

AB303,9,19 (13) "Personal funds" means funds contributed by a candidate or a member of a candidate's immediate family.

AB303,9,23 (14) "Primary election campaign period" means the period beginning on the day after the last day prescribed by law for filing nomination papers for the office of justice and ending on the day of the spring primary election for that office or the day on which the primary election would be held, if required.

AB303,10,3 (15) "Public financing qualifying period" means the period beginning on the first day of July of any year and ending on the day before the beginning of the primary election campaign period for that office.

AB303,10,5 (16) "Qualifying contribution" means a contribution made to a candidate by a resident of this state during the public financing qualifying period.

AB303,10,12 (17) "Seed money contribution" means a contribution in an amount of not more than $100 made to a candidate during the exploratory period or the public financing qualifying period, or a contribution made to a candidate consisting of personal funds of that candidate in an amount not more than the amount authorized under s. 11.507 during the exploratory period or the public financing qualifying period. "Seed money contribution" does not include a contribution for a purpose authorized under s. 11.506 (1m).

AB303,11,2 11.502 Qualification and certification at primary election. (1) Before a candidate for the office of justice in the primary election may be certified as an eligible candidate to receive a public financing benefit for the primary election campaign period, or for the election campaign period if no spring primary election for the office of justice is held, the candidate shall apply to the board for a public financing benefit and file a sworn statement that the candidate has complied and will comply with all requirements of ss. 11.502 to 11.518 throughout the applicable campaign. If the candidate desires to receive public financing benefits by electronic transfer, the candidate shall include in his or her application sufficient information and authorization for the state treasurer to transfer payments to his or her campaign depository account. A candidate shall file the application and statement, together with the list of qualifying contributions required under s. 11.510 (1), no later than 5 p.m. on the 10th day after the last day prescribed by law for filing nomination papers for the office of justice.

AB303,11,7 (2) A candidate for the office of justice shall be certified by the board as an eligible candidate for receipt of a public financing benefit if the candidate complies with sub. (1) and receives qualifying contributions from at least 500 individuals in amounts equal to not less than $10 nor more than $100 before the close of the public financing qualifying period.

AB303,11,10 (3) The board shall verify a candidate's compliance with the requirements of sub. (2) by such verification and sampling techniques as the board considers appropriate.

AB303,11,23 (4) Within 3 business days after the deadline provided under sub. (1), any person may challenge the validity of any contribution listed by a candidate by filing a written challenge with the board setting forth any reason why the contribution should not be accepted as a qualifying contribution. Within 5 business days after the deadline provided under sub. (1), the candidate who listed any contribution that is the subject of a challenge may file with the board an additional contribution within the total limitation prescribed under s. 11.509 for consideration as a qualifying contribution. If a contribution is challenged under this subsection, the board shall decide the validity of the challenge no later than the end of the next business day after the day that the challenge is filed, unless the board determines that the candidate whose contribution is challenged has sufficient qualifying contributions to be certified as an eligible candidate under this section without considering the challenge.

AB303,11,25 (5) A qualifying contribution may be utilized only for the purpose of making a disbursement authorized by law.

AB303,12,12 11.503 Qualification and certification at spring election. (1) If a spring primary for the office of justice is held, and a candidate is nominated at the primary to have his or her name appear as a candidate for the office of justice in the spring election, that candidate may apply to the board to receive a public financing benefit for the spring election. Before a candidate may be certified as an eligible candidate to receive a public financing benefit for the spring election, the candidate shall file with the board a sworn statement that the candidate has fulfilled all the requirements of ss. 11.502 to 11.518 during the primary election campaign period and will comply with such requirements during the election campaign period. A candidate shall file the application and statement no later than the day after the date of the spring primary election or the day on which the primary election would be held if a primary were required.

AB303,12,15 (2) The board shall certify a candidate as an eligible candidate for receipt of public financing for a spring election if the candidate qualifies under sub. (1) to receive the benefit and the candidate complies with sub. (1).

AB303,12,19 11.506 Requirements imposed upon candidates. (1) Except provided in sub. (1m), an eligible candidate may not accept private contributions other than seed money contributions and qualifying contributions that the candidate accepts during the exploratory period and the public financing qualifying period.

AB303,13,3 (1m) An eligible candidate may accept private contributions at any time for the purpose of payment of legal expenses in connection with a civil investigation or prosecution for an alleged violation of this chapter by the candidate or his or her personal campaign committee, payment of civil penalties incurred under this chapter by the candidate or his or her personal campaign committee, payment of recount expenses incurred by the candidate or his or her personal campaign committee, or payment of inaugural expenses of the candidate, subject to applicable contribution limitations under s. 11.26. This subsection does not preclude payment of such expenses in any other lawful manner.

AB303,13,11 (2) In addition to reports required to be filed under ss. 11.12 (5) and 11.20, a candidate who receives a public financing benefit shall furnish complete financial records, including records of seed money contributions, qualifying contributions, and disbursements, to the board on the 15th or the last day of the month that immediately follows the receipt of the contribution or the making of the disbursement, whichever comes first, except that during July, August, and September records need only be furnished on the last day of the month. Each such candidate shall cooperate with any audit or examination by the board.

AB303,13,18 (3) In addition to complying with ss. 11.06 (5) and 11.12 (3), a candidate who receives a public financing benefit shall maintain records of all seed money and qualifying contributions received. These records shall contain the full name of the contributor and the contributor's full home address. In addition, if a contributor's aggregate contributions to any candidate exceed $50 for any campaign, the candidate shall also maintain a record of the contributor's principal occupation and the name and business address of the contributor's place of employment.

AB303,13,21 (4) Failure to record any information pertaining to a contribution under sub. (3) or to provide the board with that information upon request disqualifies the contribution from being counted as a qualifying contribution under s. 11.502 (2).

AB303,13,25 (5) No eligible candidate and no person acting on an eligible candidate's behalf may deposit in the candidate's campaign depository account any contribution unless the information pertaining to that contribution required under sub. (3) has first been recorded by the candidate.

AB303,14,4 (6) No eligible candidate may accept more than $25 in cash from any contributor and no such candidate may accept cash from all sources in a total amount greater than one-tenth of 1% of the public financing benefit for the office of justice or $500, whichever is greater.

AB303,14,7 11.507 Personal funds of candidates. (1) The personal funds of a candidate contributed as seed money contributions may not exceed an aggregate amount of $5,000.

AB303,14,10 (2) No eligible candidate may make any disbursement derived from personal funds after the close of the public financing qualifying period, except for a purpose authorized under s. 11.506 (1m).

AB303,14,15 11.508 Seed money contributions. An eligible candidate may accept seed money contributions from any individual or committee prior to the end of the public financing qualifying period. The total seed money contributions accepted by a candidate from one contributor, except personal funds authorized under s. 11.507 (1), may not exceed $100.

AB303,14,24 11.509 Disbursements from seed money and qualifying contributions; excess contributions. An eligible candidate may make disbursements not exceeding a total of $25,000 from seed money and qualifying contributions received by the candidate at any time after the beginning of the exploratory period. An eligible candidate shall remit to the board all seed money and qualifying contributions received by the candidate exceeding a total of $25,000 within 48 hours after the end of the exploratory period. The board shall deposit all contributions received under this section in the democracy trust fund. This section does not apply to disbursements for a purpose specified in s. 11.506 (1m).

AB303,15,7 11.510 Certification by candidate. (1) To apply for a public financing benefit, a candidate shall, no later than the time specified in s. 11.502 (1), submit a list identifying the requisite number of qualifying contributions under s. 11.502 (2) that have been received by the candidate, and shall certify to the board that the candidate has made all disclosures required as of the time of application. The candidate's request for certification shall be signed by the candidate and the candidate's campaign treasurer.

AB303,15,9 (2) The board shall process applications for public financing benefits in the order received.

AB303,15,14 (3) The board shall determine a candidate's eligibility to receive a public financing benefit for a spring primary no later than 3 business days after the time that the candidate files the list of qualifying contributions and the certification required under sub. (1) or, if a challenge is filed under s. 11.502 (4), no later than 6 business days after the deadline specified in s. 11.502 (1).

AB303,15,18 (4) The board shall determine a candidate's eligibility to receive a public financing benefit for a spring election no later than 2 business days after the date of the spring primary, or if no spring primary is held, no later than the time prescribed under sub. (3).

AB303,15,23 (5) If the board determines that a candidate is eligible to receive a public financing benefit under sub. (3) or (4), the board shall immediately issue a check for or transfer to the candidate's campaign depository account an amount equal to the initial public financing benefit for which the candidate qualifies and shall notify all other candidates for the office of justice of its determination.

AB303,16,6 (6) If a candidate who receives a public financing benefit intentionally violates the requirements of ss. 11.502 to 11.518, the board shall require the candidate to repay all public funds received by the candidate to the board. If a candidate who receives a public financing benefit otherwise violates the requirements of ss. 11.502 to 11.518, the board shall require the candidate to repay a portion of the public funds received by the candidate to the board. The amount of any such repayment shall be commensurate with the severity of the violation. The board shall deposit all repayments received under this subsection in the democracy trust fund.

AB303,16,17 11.511 Public financing benefits. (1) The board shall provide to each eligible candidate who qualifies to receive a public financing benefit for the primary or election campaign period separate checks or transfers equal to the public financing benefits payable to the candidate for the primary or election campaign periods in the amounts specified in this section, subject to any required adjustment under s. 11.512 (2) or 11.513 (3). An eligible candidate may use a public financing benefit to finance any lawful disbursements during the primary and election campaign periods to further the election of the candidate in that primary or election. An eligible candidate may not use a public financing benefit to repay any loan or use a public financing benefit in violation of ss. 11.502 to 11.518 or any other applicable law.

AB303,16,19 (2) The initial public financing benefit for a primary election campaign period is $100,000.

AB303,16,21 (3) The initial public financing benefit for an election campaign period is $300,000.

AB303,16,24 (4) If there is no spring primary election for the office of justice, no eligible candidate may receive a public financing benefit for the primary election campaign period.

AB303,17,5 (5) An eligible candidate who receives a public financing benefit in the primary election campaign period and whose name is certified to appear on the ballot at the election following that primary may utilize any unencumbered balance of the public financing benefit received by the candidate in the primary election campaign period for the election campaign period.

AB303,17,6 (6) (a) In this subsection:

AB303,17,9 1. "Consumer price index" means the average of the consumer price index over each 12-month period, all items, U.S. city average, as determined by the bureau of labor statistics of the U.S. department of labor.