AB353,26
16Section
26. 11.01 (4m) of the statutes is created to read:
AB353,14,2217
11.01
(4m) "Communication" means a message transmitted by means of a
18printed advertisement, billboard, handbill, sample ballot, radio or television
19advertisement, telephone call, or any medium that may be utilized for the purpose
20of disseminating or broadcasting a message, but not including a poll conducted solely
21for the purpose of identifying or collecting data concerning the attitudes or
22preferences of electors.
AB353,27
23Section
27. 11.01 (16) (a) 3. of the statutes is created to read:
AB353,15,724
11.01
(16) (a) 3. A communication that is made by means of one or more
25communications media, other than a communication that is exempt from reporting
1under s. 11.29, that is made during the period beginning on the 60th day preceding
2an election and ending on the date of that election, and that includes a reference to
3a candidate for state office, other than court of appeals judge, circuit judge, or district
4attorney, whose name is certified under s. 7.08 (2) (a) or 8.50 (1) (d) to appear on the
5ballot at that election, a reference to a state office, other than court of appeals judge,
6circuit judge, or district attorney, to be filled at that election, or a reference to a
7political party.
AB353,28
8Section
28. 11.05 (3) (s) of the statutes is created to read:
AB353,15,139
11.05
(3) (s) In the case of a registrant that has made a communication
10identified in s. 11.01 (16) (a) 3., a report containing the information specified in s.
1111.06 (1) with respect to any obligation to make a disbursement incurred or any
12disbursement made for the purpose of making such a communication prior to
13registration.
AB353,29
14Section
29. 11.06 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB353,15,1915
11.06
(1) (a)
An Except as required under s. 11.52 (2), an itemized statement
16giving the date, full name and street address of each contributor who has made a
17contribution in excess of $20, or whose contribution if $20 or less aggregates more
18than $20 for the calendar year, together with the amount of the contribution and the
19cumulative total contributions made by that contributor for the calendar year.
AB353,30
20Section
30. 11.06 (1) (g) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB353,15,2421
11.06
(1) (g)
An Except as required under s. 11.52 (7), an itemized statement
22of every disbursement exceeding $20 in amount or value, together with the name and
23address of the person to whom the disbursement was made, and the date and specific
24purpose for which the disbursement was made.
AB353,31
25Section
31. 11.06 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB353,16,11
111.06
(2) Disclosure of certain indirect disbursements. Notwithstanding
2sub. (1), if a disbursement is made or obligation incurred by an individual other than
3a candidate or by a committee or group which is not primarily organized for political
4purposes,
and the disbursement does not constitute a contribution to any candidate
5or other individual, committee
, or group,
and the disbursement is not made or the
6obligation is not incurred for the purpose of making a communication specified in s.
711.01 (16) (a) 3., the disbursement or obligation is required to be reported only if the
8purpose is to expressly advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified
9candidate or the adoption or rejection of a referendum. The exemption provided by
10this subsection shall in no case be construed to apply to a political party, legislative
11campaign, personal campaign or support committee.
AB353,32
12Section
32. 11.26 (2) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB353,16,1613
11.26
(2) (a) Candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state,
14state treasurer, attorney general, state superintendent, or justice, 4 percent of the
15value of the disbursement level specified in the schedule under s. 11.31 (1)
, as
16adjusted under s. 11.31 (9).
AB353,33
17Section
33. 11.26 (9) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB353,16,2318
11.26
(9) (a) No individual who is a candidate for state or local office may receive
19and accept more than 65 percent of the value of the total disbursement level
20determined under s. 11.31
, adjusted as provided in s. 11.31 (9), for the office for which
21he or she is a candidate during any primary and election campaign combined from
22all committees subject to a filing requirement, including political party and
23legislative campaign committees.
AB353,34
24Section
34. 11.26 (9) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB353,17,6
111.26
(9) (b) No individual who is a candidate for state or local office may receive
2and accept more than 45 percent of the value of the total disbursement level
3determined under s. 11.31
, adjusted as provided in s. 11.31 (9), for the office for which
4he or she is a candidate during any primary and election campaign combined from
5all committees other than political party and legislative campaign committees
6subject to a filing requirement.
AB353,35
7Section
35. 11.31 (1) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB353,17,128
11.31
(1) Schedule. (intro.) The following levels of disbursements are
9established with reference to the candidates listed below.
The levels are subject to
10adjustment under sub. (9). The levels do not operate to restrict the total amount of
11disbursements which are made or authorized to be made by any candidate in any
12primary or other election.
AB353,36
13Section
36. 11.31 (9) of the statutes is created to read:
AB353,17,1714
11.31
(9) Adjustment of disbursement levels. (a) In this subsection,
15"consumer price index" means the average of the consumer price index over each
1612-month period, all items, U.S. city average, as determined by the bureau of labor
17statistics of the U.S. department of labor.
AB353,18,1118
(b) The dollar amounts of the levels specified in sub. (1) are subject to a biennial
19adjustment to be determined by rule of the board in accordance with this paragraph.
20To determine the adjustment, the board shall, in each year that the adjustment is
21made, calculate the percentage difference between the consumer price index for the
2212-month period ending on December 31 of the preceding year and the consumer
23price index for calendar year 2013. For each biennium, the board shall multiply the
24amount of each level specified under sub. (1) by the percentage difference in the
25consumer price indexes. The board shall then add that product to the applicable level
1under sub. (1), round each sum to the nearest multiple of $5, and adjust the amount
2of each level to substitute the resulting amount. The amount so determined shall
3then be in effect until a subsequent rule is promulgated under this paragraph.
4Notwithstanding s. 227.24 (1) (a), (2) (b), and (3), determinations under this
5paragraph may be promulgated as an emergency rule under s. 227.24 without
6providing evidence that the emergency rule is necessary for the public peace, health,
7safety, or welfare and without a finding of emergency. Notwithstanding ss. 227.135
8(2) and (4) and 227.24 (1) (c) and (e) 1d. and 1g. and (2) (a), a proposed emergency rule
9promulgated under this paragraph and the statement of the scope of the proposed
10emergency rule are not subject to approval of the governor and the emergency rule
11remains in effect until the nonemergency rule corresponding to that rule takes effect.
AB353,37
12Section
37. 11.38 (6) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB353,18,1613
11.38
(6) Any individual or campaign treasurer who receives funds in violation
14of this section shall promptly return such funds to the contributor
, or donate the
15funds to the common school fund or a charitable organization, at the
individual's or 16treasurer's option.
AB353,38
17Section
38. 11.52 of the statutes is created to read:
AB353,18,22
1811.52 Clean elections fund grants. (1) Any candidate for a state office, other
19than the office of court of appeals judge, circuit judge, or district attorney, whose
20name is certified under s. 7.08 (2) (a) or 8.50 (1) (d) to appear on the ballot at an
21election may qualify to receive a grant from the clean elections fund by fulfilling the
22requirements of this section.
AB353,19,5
23(2) (a) To qualify to receive a basic grant from the clean elections fund, a
24candidate shall obtain and deposit with the state treasurer the number of qualifying
25contributions specified in this subsection, in the amount of $5 each, each of which
1shall be received from an elector of this state and, in the case of a candidate for
2legislative office, an elector of the district in which the candidate seeks office. The
3candidate shall identify the name and address of each elector making a qualifying
4contribution in a report filed with the board as provided in s. 11.06 (1) (a). The
5number of required qualifying contributions for a candidate for each office is:
AB353,19,66
1. Governor, 3,000.
AB353,19,77
2. Lieutenant governor, 750.
AB353,19,88
3. Attorney general, 1,050.
AB353,19,99
4. State treasurer, 375.
AB353,19,1010
5. Secretary of state, 375.
AB353,19,1111
6. State superintendent, 375.
AB353,19,1212
7. Justice, 450.
AB353,19,1313
8. State senator, 150.
AB353,19,1414
9. Representative to the assembly, 100.
AB353,19,1715
(b) To qualify to receive a matching grant from the clean elections fund, a
16candidate shall verify his or her receipt of qualifying matching contributions under
17sub. (10).
AB353,19,2318
(c) In addition to the requirements imposed under pars. (a) and (b), a candidate
19for a state office does not qualify to receive a grant for a general or partisan special
20election unless the candidate is the nominee of a recognized political party for that
21office or the candidate receives at least 1 percent of the total vote cast for all
22candidates on all ballots for the same office at the partisan primary, or at a special
23primary if a special primary is held.
AB353,20,6
24(3) Prior to notification that a candidate has qualified to receive a grant from
25the clean elections fund under sub. (5), a candidate may accept seed money
1contributions from individuals. The total seed money contributions accepted by a
2candidate from one contributor, including any seed money contributions made by a
3candidate to his or her own campaign, may not exceed $100. The total seed money
4contributions accepted by a candidate during the candidate's campaign, as defined
5in s. 11.26 (17), may not exceed, in the aggregate, the following amount for the office
6sought by candidate:
AB353,20,77
(a) Governor, $50,000.
AB353,20,88
(b) Lieutenant governor, $12,500.
AB353,20,99
(c) Attorney general, $17,500.
AB353,20,1010
(d) State treasurer, $6,250.
AB353,20,1111
(e) Secretary of state, $6,250.
AB353,20,1212
(f) State superintendent, $6,250.
AB353,20,1313
(g) Justice, $7,500.
AB353,20,1414
(h) State senator, $2,500.
AB353,20,1515
(i) Representative to the assembly, $1,500.
AB353,20,20
16(4) A contributor who makes a qualifying contribution may also make a seed
17money contribution in the full amount authorized under sub. (3) or a matching
18contribution in the full amount authorized under sub. (10), or both. A contributor
19who makes a seed money contribution under sub. (3) may also make a matching
20contribution in the full amount authorized under sub. (10).
AB353,21,7
21(5) (a) To qualify to receive a grant from the clean elections fund, a candidate
22shall file an application with the board, no later than a time specified by the board
23by rule, in which the candidate shall affirm that he or she has not accepted and agrees
24not to accept after notification of the candidate's qualification a contribution from
25any source other than a contribution required under sub. (2) or a contribution
1authorized under sub. (3), except matching contributions in the amount authorized
2under sub. (10) and except as otherwise provided in par. (b). If the candidate desires
3to receive grant payments by electronic transfer, the candidate shall include in his
4or her application sufficient information and authorization for the state treasurer to
5transfer payments to his or her campaign depository account. The board shall notify
6each candidate who qualifies to receive a grant from the clean elections fund as
7promptly as possible following qualification.
AB353,21,108
(b) A candidate who receives a grant at a primary election but does not qualify
9to receive a grant at the succeeding general or special election is not required to
10adhere to his or her affirmation under par. (a) after the date of the primary election.
AB353,21,15
11(6) (a) The board shall distribute basic primary election grants from the clean
12elections fund to each candidate who qualifies to receive a grant under this section
13as soon as possible preceding the date on which the primary election is held for the
14office that the candidate seeks or the date on which the primary election would be
15held if a primary election were required to be held.
AB353,21,2016
(b) The board shall distribute basic grants for the spring, general, and any
17special election from the clean elections fund to each candidate who qualifies to
18receive a grant under this section as soon as possible after the date of the primary
19election for the office sought by the candidate, or the date on which the primary
20election would be held if a primary election were required to be held.
AB353,22,221
(c) The board shall distribute matching grants for any election from the clean
22elections fund to each candidate who qualifies to receive a matching grant under this
23section as soon as possible after the date on which the board verifies that the
24candidate is eligible to receive a matching grant. The board shall distribute
1additional matching grants at periodic intervals after initial matching grants are
2distributed as soon as the board is able to verify eligibility for additional grants.
AB353,22,5
3(7) A candidate who receives a grant from the clean elections fund shall file
4with the board reports of all disbursements made in the manner provided under s.
511.06 (1) (g), without regard to the amounts thereof.
AB353,22,9
6(8) (a) Except as provided in par. (b) and sub. (9), a candidate who qualifies to
7receive a basic grant from the clean elections fund under this section shall receive
8a grant in the following amount for the office sought by the candidate and for the
9election specified:
-
See PDF for table ![PDF](http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/assets/image/file_acrobat.gif)
AB353,23,810
(b) If a candidate does not have an opponent who has qualified to have his or
11her name appear on the ballot at the election for which a grant is to be applied, the
12candidate shall receive a basic grant for a primary election equal to the average total
13disbursements made per candidate in primary election campaign periods, as
14determined on a statewide basis by the board from reports filed by or on behalf of
15those candidates in accordance with s. 11.31 (5), for the office that the candidate
16seeks during the 4-year period preceding the date of the primary election, or a basic
1grant for a spring, general, or special election equal to the average total
2disbursements made per candidate in general and special election campaign periods,
3as determined on a statewide basis by the board from reports filed by or on behalf of
4those candidates in accordance with s. 11.31 (5), for the office that the candidate
5seeks during the 4-year period preceding the date of the spring, general, or special
6election, less the aggregate amount of contributions accepted by the candidate under
7sub. (3) except that a candidate for the office of governor shall receive a basic grant
8of $100,000 for a primary election and a basic grant of $200,000 for a general election.
AB353,23,11
9(9) (a) In this subsection, "consumer price index" means the average of the
10consumer price index over each 12-month period, all items, U.S. city average, as
11determined by the bureau of labor statistics of the U.S. department of labor.
AB353,24,712
(b) The dollar amounts of the grants specified in sub. (8) (a) and the grants
13specified for the office of governor in sub. (8) (b) are subject to a biennial
14cost-of-living adjustment to be determined by rule of the board in accordance with
15this paragraph. To determine the adjustment, the board shall, as soon as possible
16after the end of each odd-numbered year, calculate the percentage difference
17between the consumer price index for the 12-month period ending on December 31
18of the preceding year and the consumer price index for calendar year 2013. For each
19biennium, the board shall multiply the amount of each grant specified in sub. (8) by
20the percentage difference in the consumer price indexes. The board shall then add
21that product to the applicable grant amount under sub. (8), round each sum to the
22nearest multiple of $5, and adjust the amount of each grant to substitute the
23resulting amount. The amount so determined shall then be in effect until a
24subsequent rule is promulgated under this paragraph. Notwithstanding s. 227.24
25(1) (a), (2) (b), and (3), determinations under this paragraph may be promulgated as
1an emergency rule under s. 227.24 without providing evidence that the emergency
2rule is necessary for the public peace, health, safety, or welfare, and without a finding
3of emergency. Notwithstanding ss. 227.135 (2) and (4) and 227.24 (1) (c) and (e) 1d.
4and 1g. and (2) (a), a proposed emergency rule promulgated under this paragraph
5and the statement of the scope of the proposed emergency rule are not subject to
6approval of the governor and the emergency rule remains in effect until the
7nonemergency rule corresponding to that rule takes effect.
AB353,24,25
8(10) A candidate who receives notification under sub. (5) that the candidate has
9qualified to receive a basic grant may also qualify to receive matching grants under
10this subsection. A matching grant shall be in an amount equal to 3 times the amount
11of any contribution or contributions up to $25 cumulatively that are received by a
12candidate from an individual exclusive of any seed money or qualifying contributions
13received by the candidate from the same individual. A candidate who receives a
14matching contribution shall separately identify the contribution in the candidate's
15financial reports under s. 11.06 (1). A candidate who receives one or more matching
16contributions after the end of a reporting period for his or her most recent financial
17report may file a special report in the manner prescribed by the board disclosing the
18pertinent information under s. 11.06 (1) in the manner specified in sub. (7) with
19respect to the matching contributions. The candidate shall also include the
20information in his or her next financial report. The board shall make a reasonable
21effort to verify reports of eligibility for matching grants for use at an election if the
22reports are received by the board by the Thursday before the election. The board
23shall not provide matching grants to candidates for use in an election unless the
24board is able to verify eligibility for the grants by 4 p.m. on the Friday before the
25election.
AB353,25,2
1(11) Except as provided in sub. (2) (a), a candidate may expend the proceeds
2of grants and other contributions received for any lawful purpose.
AB353,25,9
3(12) If a candidate who makes an agreement under sub. (5) does not adhere to
4the agreement, the candidate shall forfeit an amount equivalent to any grant from
5the clean elections fund that is provided to the candidate and the candidate may be
6fined not more than 3 times the amount of any contributions received by the
7candidate in his or her campaign, as defined in s. 11.26 (17), exclusive of the amount
8of any grant or any contributions deposited under sub. (2) or received under sub. (3)
9or (10).
AB353,25,16
10(13) No later than the first day of the first month beginning at least 15 days
11after an election at which a candidate receives a grant from the clean elections fund,
12the candidate shall return to the state treasurer any amount of the grant remaining
13in the candidate's campaign depository account, except that a candidate who receives
14a grant at a primary election need not return any amount under this subsection if
15the candidate qualifies to receive a grant at the succeeding spring, general, or special
16election.
AB353,25,17
17(14) The board may promulgate rules required to implement this section.
AB353,39
18Section
39. 14.58 (20a) of the statutes is created to read:
AB353,25,2119
14.58
(20a) Clean elections fund. Make payment of grants to each candidate
20who is certified under s. 11.52 (5) by the government accountability board as eligible
21to receive a grant from the clean elections fund.
AB353,40
22Section
40. 20.511 (1) (qa) of the statutes is created to read:
AB353,25,2423
20.511
(1) (qa)
Clean elections fund grants. From the clean elections fund, a
24sum sufficient to make the grants to candidates required under s. 11.52.
AB353,41
25Section
41. 20.855 (4) (bc) of the statutes is created to read:
AB353,26,3
120.855
(4) (bc)
Clean elections fund supplement. A sum sufficient equal to the
2amounts required to make the grants to candidates required under s. 11.52, to be
3transferred to the clean elections fund.
AB353,42
4Section
42. 25.17 (1) (aw) of the statutes is created to read:
AB353,26,55
25.17
(1) (aw) Clean elections fund (s. 25.426);
AB353,43
6Section
43. 25.426 of the statutes is created to read:
AB353,26,10
725.426 Clean elections fund. All moneys deposited with the state treasurer
8under s. 11.52 (2) or returned to the state treasurer under ss. 8.35 (4) (ba) and 11.52
9(13) and all moneys transferred to the clean elections fund under s. 20.855 (4) (bc)
10constitute the clean elections fund.
AB353,44
11Section
44.
Nonstatutory provisions.
AB353,26,1912
(1) Notwithstanding section 11.52 (5) of the statutes, as created by this act, a
13candidate for state office who, prior to the effective date of this subsection, has
14accepted one or more contributions other than qualifying contributions under section
1511.52 (2) of the statutes, as created by this act, is not disqualified solely on the basis
16of that acceptance from receiving a grant under section 11.52 of the statutes, as
17created by this act, at an election held after the effective date of this subsection. A
18candidate may use the proceeds of any such contributions to make disbursements for
19any lawful purpose.
AB353,45
20Section
45.
Initial applicability.
AB353,26,2321
(1) This act first applies with respect to grants for election campaigns at
22elections for which the nomination paper circulation period begins on or after the
23effective date of this subsection.
AB353,26,2524
(2) The treatment of section 11.01 (16) (a) 3. of the statutes first applies with
25respect to reporting periods that begin on or after the effective date of this subsection.
AB353,27,2
1(3) The treatment of sections 11.31 (9) and 11.52 (9) of the statutes first applies
2to adjustments for the biennium beginning on January 1, 2016.