1. It has the major purpose of making expenditures to support or defeat a referendum, as specified in the entity's organizational or governing documents, the entity's bylaws, resolutions of the entity's governing body, or registration statements filed by the entity under this chapter.
2. It uses more than 50 percent of its total spending in a 12-month period on expenditures made to support or defeat a referendum. In this subdivision, total spending does not include a committee's fundraising or administrative expenses.
(b) It is organized by any person, other than an individual, or by any permanent or temporary combination of 2 or more persons unrelated by marriage.
(c) It does not receive contributions or make disbursements or contributions for the purpose of influencing or attempting to influence a candidate's nomination or election.
(29) "Special election" means any election, other than those described in subs. (15), (24), (30), (32), and (33) to fill vacancies or to conduct a referendum.
(30) "Special primary" means the primary held 4 weeks before the special election, except as follows:
(a) If the special election is held on the same day as the general election, the special primary shall be held on the same day as the general primary.
(b) If the special election is held concurrently with the spring election, the primary shall be held concurrently with the spring primary.
(31) "Sponsoring organization" means an entity that establishes, administers, or financially supports a political action committee or an independent expenditure committee.
(32) "Spring election" means the election held on the first Tuesday in April to elect judicial, educational, and municipal officers, nonpartisan county officers and sewerage commissioners, and to express preferences for the person to be the presidential candidate for each political party in a year in which electors for president and vice president are to be elected.
(33) "Spring primary" means the nonpartisan primary held on the 3rd Tuesday in February to nominate nonpartisan candidates to be voted for at the spring election.
(34) "Treasurer" means the individual who registers a committee with a filing officer and who makes reports on behalf of the committee.
11.0102 Determination of filing officer and duty to file; fees. (1) Each committee and conduit required to register and report under this chapter shall have and shall file each registration statement and report required under this chapter with one filing officer as follows:
(a) The following shall file with the board:
1. A candidate committee of a candidate for state office, as defined in s. 5.02 (23).
2. A conduit.
3. A legislative campaign committee.
4. A political action committee.
4m. An independent expenditure committee.
5. A political party.
6. A recall committee as defined in s. 11.0101 (27) (a).
7. Except as provided in pars. (f) and (g), a referendum committee.
(b) Subject to pars. (c) and (d), a candidate committee for a candidate seeking local office shall file with the clerk of the most populous jurisdiction for which the candidate seeks office.
(c) A candidate committee for a candidate for municipal judge elected under s. 755.01 (4) shall file with the county clerk or board of election commissioners of the county having the largest portion of the population in the jurisdiction served by the judge.
(d) A candidate committee for a candidate for school board member shall file with the school district clerk.
(e) A recall committee as defined in s. 11.0101 (27) (b) shall file with the filing officer for candidates for that office.
(f) A referendum committee acting to support or oppose any local referendum, other than a school district referendum, shall file with the clerk of the most populous jurisdiction in which the referendum will be conducted.
(g) A referendum committee acting to support or oppose a school district referendum shall file with the school district clerk.
(2) (a) Except as provided in pars. (c) and (d), each committee that is required to register under this chapter shall annually pay a filing fee of $100 to the board. The board may accept payment under this subsection by credit card, debit card, or other electronic payment mechanism, and may charge a surcharge to that committee to recover the actual costs associated with the acceptance of that electronic payment.
(b) A committee that is subject to par. (a) shall pay the fee specified in par. (a) together with the report filed by that committee on the 15th day of the month of January in each year. If a committee that is subject to par. (a) registers under this chapter or changes status so that par. (a) becomes applicable to the committee during a calendar year, the committee shall pay the fee for that year with the filing of the committee's registration statement or at any time before the change in status becomes effective.
(c) Paragraph (a) does not apply to a candidate committee.
(d) Paragraph (a) does not apply to any committee for any year during which the committee does not make disbursements exceeding a total of $2,500.
(3) Each filing officer, other than the board, shall do all of the following:
(a) Obtain the forms and manuals prescribed by the board under s. 11.1304 (1) and (3) and election laws provided by the board under s. 7.08 (4).
(b) Develop a filing, coding, and cross-indexing system consonant with the purposes of this chapter.
(c) Make all of the following available, without charge, to any committee required to file reports or statements with the officer:
1. Forms prescribed by the board for the making of reports and statements. The filing officer shall notify the committee that all forms are available on the board's Internet site. Whenever a filing officer sends a form or notice of the filing requirements under this chapter to the treasurer of a candidate committee, the filing officer shall also send a notice to the candidate.
2. Upon request, copies of manuals under par. (a).
(d) The filing officer shall provide copies of manuals and election laws to persons other than a committee under par. (c) at cost.
(e) Notify the board, in writing, of any facts within the filing officer's knowledge or evidence in the officer's possession, including errors or discrepancies in reports or statements and delinquencies in filing which may be grounds for civil action or criminal prosecution. The board may transmit a copy of the notification submitted under this paragraph to the district attorney.
(f) Make available a list of delinquents for public inspection.
(g) Compile and maintain on an electronic system a current list of all reports and statements received by or required of and pertaining to each committee registered under this chapter.
(h) Make the reports and statements filed with the officer available for public inspection and copying, commencing as soon as practicable but not later than the end of the 2nd day following the day during which they are received.
(i) Upon the request of any person, permit copying of any report or statement described under par. (g) at cost.
(j) Determine whether each report or statement required to be filed under this chapter has been filed in the form and by the time prescribed by law, and whether it conforms on its face to the requirements of this chapter. The officer shall immediately send to any committee that is delinquent in filing, or that has filed otherwise than in the proper form, a notice that the committee has failed to comply with this chapter. Whenever a candidate committee has appointed an individual other than the candidate as campaign treasurer, the board shall send the notice to both the candidate and the treasurer of the candidate committee.
11.0103 Reporting; general. (1) Report must be complete. (a) Each committee and conduit required to register under this chapter shall be subject to the reporting requirements applicable to that committee or conduit. Each committee and conduit required to file a report under this chapter shall make a good faith effort to obtain all required information.
(b) Failure to receive a form or notice from a filing officer does not exempt a committee or conduit from a reporting requirement under this chapter.
(2) Contributions; when received; when reported. (a) 1. A contribution is received by a candidate committee for purposes of this chapter when it is under the control of the candidate or the treasurer or agent of the candidate.
2. A contribution is received by a committee for purposes of this chapter when it is under the control of the treasurer or agent of the committee.
(b) Unless it is returned or donated within 15 days of receipt under par. (a), a contribution must be reported as received on the date received.
(3) Contents of report; filing dates; certification; short form; contents. (a) A committee shall begin each report filed under this chapter with the first contribution received, disbursement made, or obligation incurred during the reporting period, and shall include all contributions received, disbursements made, and obligations incurred as of the end of:
1. The 15th day preceding the primary or election in the case of the preprimary and preelection report.
2. The last day of the immediately preceding month in the case of a continuing report required under this chapter.
3. The 22nd day following the special election in the case of a postelection report required under this chapter.
(b) Each committee shall ensure that each report is filed with the appropriate filing officer on the dates designated in this chapter. In the event that any report is required to be filed under this chapter on a nonbusiness day, a committee may file the report on the next business day thereafter.
(c) 1. Except as provided in subd. 2., the committee's treasurer shall certify to the correctness of each report filed under this chapter.
2. Either the candidate or the treasurer of the candidate's committee shall certify to the correctness of each report filed under this chapter.
(d) The board shall prescribe a simplified, short form for compliance with this section by a committee treasurer who has not engaged in any financial transaction since the last date included on the treasurer's preceding report.
(4) Preprimary and preelection reports; inactivity. (a) A contribution made or accepted, a disbursement made, or an obligation incurred to support or oppose a candidate at a primary that is made, accepted, or incurred during the period covered by the preprimary report is considered to be made, accepted, or incurred to support or oppose that candidate at the primary, regardless of whether the candidate is opposed at the primary.
(b) A contribution made or accepted, disbursement made, or obligation incurred to support or oppose a candidate at an election that is made, accepted, or incurred during the period covered by the preelection report is considered to be made, accepted, or incurred to support or oppose that candidate at the election, regardless of whether the candidate is opposed at the election.
(c) 1. a. Except as provided in subd. 2., a committee that makes or accepts a contribution, makes a disbursement, or incurs an obligation to support or oppose a candidate at a primary during the period covered by the preelection report, but does not engage in such activity during the period covered by the preprimary report, is not required to file a preprimary report.
b. Except as provided in subd. 2., a committee that makes or accepts a contribution, makes a disbursement, or incurs an obligation to support or oppose a candidate at an election during the period covered by the report that follows the preelection report, but does not engage in such activity during the period covered by the preelection report, is not required to file a preelection report.
2. A candidate committee that makes or accepts a contribution, makes a disbursement, or incurs an obligation to support or oppose a candidate at a primary during the period covered by the preprimary report shall file both the preprimary and preelection reports, regardless of whether the candidate committee engages in such activity during the period covered by the preelection report.
(5) Nonresident reporting. Notwithstanding the reporting requirements that would otherwise apply under this chapter, but subject to the applicable thresholds for submitting reports, a committee that does not maintain an office or a street address in this state shall submit reports on a form prescribed by the board of all disbursements made and obligations incurred with respect to an election for a state or local office in this state and contributions from sources in this state.
11.0104 Reporting exemptions: limited activity. (1) (a) Except as provided in par. (b), any committee which does not anticipate accepting or making contributions, making disbursements, or incurring obligations, and any conduit which does not anticipate accepting or releasing contributions, in an aggregate amount exceeding $2,000 in a calendar year may file an amended registration statement with the appropriate filing officer indicating that fact. The committee or conduit shall certify the amended registration in the manner required under s. 11.0103 (3) (c) and shall include the information required to be reported by that committee or conduit on its continuing reports.
(b) In no case may a candidate committee file an amended registration under this section covering any period ending sooner than the date of the election in which the candidate committee is participating.
(2) Upon receipt of a properly executed amended registration by a committee or conduit, the appropriate filing officer shall suspend the requirement imposed upon that committee or conduit by this chapter to file continuing reports. An indication of limited activity under this section is effective only for the calendar year in which it is granted, unless the committee or conduit alters its status before the end of such year or files a termination report under s. 11.0105.
(3) An indication of limited activity made under sub. (1) may be revoked. If revoked, the committee or conduit shall comply with the reporting requirements applicable to the committee or conduit under this chapter as of the date of revocation, or the date that aggregate contributions, disbursements, or obligations for the calendar year exceed $2,000. If the revocation is not timely, the committee or conduit violates s. 11.1201.
(4) A committee or conduit that files an amended registration statement under sub. (1) is not required to file a termination report under s. 11.0105.
(5) If a committee or conduit files an amended registration statement under sub. (1) and within 60 days thereafter receives and accepts an unanticipated contribution, the committee or conduit shall do one of the following within 60 days after receipt of the unanticipated contribution:
(a) File an amended registration statement. An amended registration statement supersedes the previous registration statement. The individual who certifies to the accuracy of the registration statement shall also certify that the amended registration statement is filed on account of the receipt of unanticipated contributions and the failure to file a correct registration statement was not intentional.
(b) Return the contribution to the contributor or donate the contribution to the common school fund or to a charitable organization.
11.0105 Reporting exemptions: dissolution of committee or conduit and termination reports. (1) (a) Except as provided in par. (b) and s. 11.0104 (4), whenever any committee or conduit dissolves or determines that obligations will no longer be incurred, contributions will no longer be received or, in the case of a conduit, accepted and released, and disbursements will no longer be made during a calendar year, and the committee has no outstanding incurred obligations, the committee or conduit shall file with the appropriate filing officer a termination report that indicates a cash balance of zero at the end of the reporting period. The committee or conduit shall certify the termination report in the manner required under s. 11.0103 (3) (c) and the committee shall include the information required to be reported by that committee on its continuing reports.
(b) In no case may a candidate committee file a termination report covering any period ending sooner than the date of the election in which the candidate committee is participating.
(2) A committee to which s. 11.0102 (2) applies shall pay the fee imposed under that subsection with a termination report filed under this section.
(3) The committee shall include in the termination report filed under this section the manner in which residual funds were disposed. Residual funds may be used for any purpose not prohibited by law, returned to the donors in an amount not exceeding the original contribution, or donated to a charitable organization or the common school fund.
(4) If a committee files a termination report under sub. (1) and within 60 days thereafter receives and accepts an unanticipated contribution, the committee shall do one of the following within 60 days after receipt of the unanticipated contribution:
(a) File an amended termination report. An amended report supersedes the previous report. The individual who certifies to the accuracy of the report shall also certify to a statement that the amended report is filed on account of the receipt of unanticipated contributions and the failure to file a correct termination report was not intentional.
(b) Return the contribution to the contributor or donate the contribution to the common school fund or to a charitable organization.
11.0106 Disbursements; form. Every disbursement which is made by a committee registered under this chapter from the committee's depository account shall be made by negotiable instrument.
11.0107 Nonapplicability. Federal account committees, federal candidate committees, and national political party committees are not required to register or report under this chapter.
subchapter ii
candidate committees
11.0201 Registration; treasurer and depositories. (1) Each candidate shall either designate a treasurer of his or her candidate committee to comply with the registration and reporting requirements under this subchapter or serve as the treasurer and comply with the registration and reporting requirements under this subchapter. If the candidate appoints a treasurer, the candidate and the candidate's treasurer shall cosign the registration statement of the candidate's committee.
(2) (a) The treasurer shall ensure that all funds received are deposited in the candidate committee depository account.
(b) Notwithstanding par. (a), any candidate who serves as his or her own treasurer and who is authorized to file and files an amended registration statement under s. 11.0104 may designate a single personal account as his or her candidate committee depository account, and may intermingle personal and other funds with campaign funds. If a candidate establishes a separate candidate committee depository account, the candidate shall transfer all campaign funds in the personal account to the new depository account. Disbursements made from a personal account under this paragraph need not be identified in accordance with s. 11.0106.
(3) No disbursement may be made or obligation incurred by or on behalf of a candidate committee without the authorization of the treasurer or a designated agent.
(4) The treasurer shall maintain the records of the candidate committee in an organized and legible manner for not less than 3 years after the date of the election in which the candidate committee participates.
11.0202 Registration; timing; candidate committee required. (1) Time of registration. (a) Each candidate, through his or her candidate committee, shall file a registration statement with the appropriate filing officer giving the information required under s. 11.0203 as soon as practicable after the individual qualifies as a candidate under s. 11.0101 (1).
