AB950: Bill Text

AB950, s. 17 Section 17. 11.26 (2) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB950,9,6 11.26 (2) (a) Candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, state superintendent or justice, 4% of the value of the disbursement level specified in the schedule under s. 11.31 (1) $1,000.

AB950, s. 18 Section 18. 11.26 (9) (c) and (10) of the statutes are repealed.

AB950, s. 19 Section 19. 11.26 (13) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB950,9,11 11.26 (13) Except as provided in sub. (9), contributions Public financing benefits received from the Wisconsin election campaign democracy trust fund are not subject to limitation by this section.

AB950, s. 20 Section 20. 11.26 (17) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB950,9,15 11.26 (17) (a) For purposes of application of the limitations imposed in subs. (1), (2), and (9) and (10), the "campaign" of a candidate begins and ends at the times specified in this subsection.

AB950, s. 21 Section 21. 11.31 (title) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB950,9,17 11.31 (title) Disbursement levels and limitations; calculation.

AB950, s. 22 Section 22. 11.31 (1) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB950,9,23 11.31 (1) Schedule. (intro.) The following levels of disbursements are established with reference to the candidates listed below. Except as provided in sub. (2), such Such levels do not operate to restrict the total amount of disbursements which are made or authorized to be made by any candidate in any primary or other election.

AB950, s. 23 Section 23. 11.31 (2) and (2m) and (3) of the statutes are repealed.

AB950, s. 24 Section 24. 11.31 (3m) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB950,10,12 11.31 (3m) Unopposed candidates; exception. Notwithstanding subs. sub. (1) and (2), if all candidates for state senator or representative to the assembly in a legislative district who are certified under s. 7.08 (2) (a) to appear on the September primary ballot of all parties recognized under s. 5.62 (1) (b) or (2) have no opponent who is certified to appear on the same primary ballot, or if no primary is required for all candidates of parties recognized under s. 5.62 (1) (b) or (2) for state senator or representative to the assembly in a legislative district who are certified under s. 8.50 (1) (d) to appear on a special partisan election ballot, then the separate limitation levels specified in sub. (1) for disbursements during the primary and election period does do not apply to candidates for that office in that primary and election, and the candidates are bound only by the total limitations specified for the primary and election.

AB950, s. 25 Section 25. 11.31 (6) of the statutes, as affected by 1997 Wisconsin Act .... (Assembly Bill 150), is amended to read:

AB950,11,4 11.31 (6) Exclusions. In computing the limitations levels under this section an individual or campaign treasurer may exclude any contributions returned to the contributor; any loan repayments made; any inaugural expenses paid from the campaign depository account under s. 11.25 (2) (b); any expenses incurred as a result of a recount; all federal, state or local taxes paid; any reimbursement made to a candidate for the candidate's travel expenses; the gross receipts from the sale at an auction of any materials contributed to a candidate and reported by the candidate as a disbursement at the time the contribution is made; all refunds or deposits paid; the cost of services and materials purchased from a service provider for the purpose of compliance with the electronic filing requirement under s. 11.21 (16); and the cost of facilities rental, entertainment expense, food and beverages (including the preparation and service thereof if contracted to an outside agency), if utilized for a meal, sale, rally or similar fund raising effort or program which is intended for political purposes. Any such exclusion claimed shall be reported to the appropriate filing officer in such form as the board may require.

AB950, s. 26 Section 26. 11.31 (7) (b) to (d) of the statutes are amended to read:

AB950,11,8 11.31 (7) (b) Disbursements which are made before a campaign period for goods to be delivered or services to be rendered in connection with the campaign are charged against included in the disbursement limitation level for that campaign.

AB950,11,11 (c) Disbursements which are made after a campaign to retire a debt incurred in relation to a campaign are charged against included in the disbursement limitation level for that campaign.

AB950,11,14 (d) Disbursements which are made outside a campaign period and to which par. (b) or (c) does not apply are not subject to included in any disbursement limitation level. Such disbursements are subject to s. 11.25 (2).

AB950, s. 27 Section 27. 11.31 (8) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB950,11,20 11.31 (8) Certain contributions excluded. The limitations imposed levels specified under this section do not apply to a gift of anything of value constituting a contribution made directly to a registrant by another, but the limitations levels shall apply to such gift when it is received and accepted by the recipient or if received in the form of money, when disbursed.

AB950, s. 28 Section 28. 11.31 (10) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB950,11,25 11.31 (10) Surplus materials excluded. Disbursements constituting surplus materials acquired in connection with a previous campaign of a candidate are not subject to limitation by included in the levels specified in this section, if the materials were previously reported as a disbursement by that candidate.

AB950, s. 29 Section 29. 11.33 (1) (a) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB950,12,5 11.33 (1) (a) (intro.) No Except as provided in sub. (4), no person elected to state or local office who becomes a candidate for national, state or local office may use public funds for the cost of materials or distribution for 50 or more pieces of substantially identical material distributed after:

AB950, s. 30 Section 30. 11.33 (4) of the statutes is created to read:

AB950,12,8 11.33 (4) This section does not apply to a candidate for state office at the general election.

AB950, s. 31 Section 31. 11.50 of the statutes is repealed.

AB950, s. 32 Section 32. 11.501 to 11.522 of the statutes are created to read:

AB950,12,11 11.501 Definitions. In ss. 11.501 to 11.522:

AB950,12,13 (1) "Allowable contribution" means a qualifying contribution, seed money contribution or personal contribution authorized under ss. 11.502 to 11.522.

AB950,12,14 (2) "Campaign" has the meaning given in s. 11.26 (17).

AB950,12,17 (3) "Election campaign period" means the period beginning on the day after the primary election or the day on which a primary election would be held, if required, and ending on the day of the succeeding general or special election.

AB950,12,21 (4) "Eligible candidate" means a candidate for a partisan state office, other than district attorney, who qualifies for public financing 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 11.522.

AB950,12,24 (5) "Excess disbursement amount" means the amount of disbursements made by a nonparticipating candidate in excess of the public financing benefit available to an eligible candidate for the same office which the nonparticipating candidate seeks.

AB950,13,3 (6) "Excess qualifying contribution amount" means the amount of qualifying contributions accepted by a candidate beyond the number or dollar amount of contributions required to qualify a candidate for public financing.

AB950,13,6 (7) "Exploratory period" means the period that begins after the date of a general election and ends on the first day of the public financing qualifying period for the next election for the same office.

AB950,13,10 (8) "Fair election debit card" means a debit card issued by the secretary of state in accordance with s. 11.515 (2) entitling a candidate and agents of the candidate designated by the candidate to draw money from an account maintained by the board to make disbursements authorized by law.

AB950,13,12 (9) "Immediate family", when used with reference to a candidate, includes the candidate's spouse and children.

AB950,13,17 (10) "Independent disbursement" means a disbursement by a person expressly advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate which is made without cooperation or consultation with a candidate, or any authorized committee or agent of a candidate, and which is not made in concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, any candidate, or any authorized committee or agent of a candidate.

AB950,13,23 (11) "Mass mailing" means a districtwide or statewide mailing of newsletters, pamphlets, brochures or other similar items of more than 100 pieces in which the content of the matter mailed is substantially identical. "Mass mailing" does not include a mailing made in direct response to communications from persons to whom the matter is mailed, a mailing to a federal, state or local government official or a news release to communications media.

AB950,14,3 (12) "Nonparticipating candidate" means a candidate 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 11.522.

AB950,14,5 (13) "Personal funds" means funds contributed by a candidate or a member of a candidate's immediate family.

AB950,14,9 (14) "Primary election campaign period" means the period beginning 30 days after the last day prescribed by law for filing nomination papers for an office and ending on the day of the primary election for that office or the day on which the primary election would be held, if required.

AB950,14,13 (15) "Public financing qualifying period" means the period beginning on the first day of January of an even-numbered year or the day on which a special election is ordered and ending on the day before the beginning of the primary election campaign period.

AB950,14,19 (16) "Qualifying contribution" means a contribution of $5 made to a candidate made by an elector of the jurisdiction or district in which the candidate seeks office during the public financing qualifying period, which is accompanied by a statement signed by the contributor indicating that he or she understands the purpose of the contribution and which is acknowledged by written receipt identifying the contributor.

AB950,14,25 (17) "Seed money contribution" means a contribution in an amount not more than $100 made to a candidate by an individual or committee in which the candidate seeks office 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.

AB950,15,9 11.502 Qualification; certification. (1) Before a candidate for the nomination of a political party for an office in a primary election may be certified as an eligible candidate to receive a public financing benefit for the primary election campaign period, the candidate shall apply to the secretary of state 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 11.522 throughout the applicable campaign, which includes the primary and election for that office. A candidate shall file the application and statement no later than the beginning of the primary election campaign period for the office which the candidate seeks.

AB950,15,13 (2) A candidate shall be certified by the secretary of state as an eligible candidate for receipt of full public financing for a primary election if the candidate complies with sub. (1) and receives qualifying contributions before the close of the public financing qualifying period equal to at least:

AB950,15,14 (a) Two hundred in the case of a candidate for representative to the assembly.

AB950,15,15 (b) Five hundred in the case of a candidate for state senator.

AB950,15,17 (c) One thousand in the case of a candidate for a statewide office other than governor.

AB950,15,18 (d) Two thousand in the case of a candidate for governor.

AB950,15,20 (3) The secretary of state shall prescribe a form to be completed and signed by the contributor of each qualifying contribution.

AB950,15,23 (4) The secretary of state shall verify a candidate's compliance with the requirements of sub. (2) by such verification and sampling techniques as the secretary of state considers appropriate.

AB950,15,24 (5) Each candidate shall:

AB950,16,2 (a) Acknowledge each qualifying contribution by a receipt to the contributor which contains the contributor's name and home address.

AB950,16,6 (b) No later than the 15th or the last day of the month which immediately follows the date of receipt of a qualifying contribution, whichever comes first, file a copy of the receipt under par. (a) with the secretary of state, except that during January, February and March a copy need only be filed on the last day of the month.

AB950,16,8 (6) A qualifying contribution may be utilized only for the purpose of making a disbursement authorized by law.

AB950,16,16 11.503 Party candidates. (1) Before a political party candidate may be certified as eligible for full or proportional public financing for a general or special election, the candidate shall apply to the secretary of state no later than the 7th day after the date of the primary election or the day on which the primary election would be held if required, for public financing for the general or special election, and file a sworn statement that the candidate has fulfilled all the requirements of ss. 11.502 to 11.522 during the primary election campaign period and will comply with such requirements during the election campaign period.

AB950,16,19 (2) The secretary of state shall certify a political party candidate as an eligible candidate for receipt of full public financing for a general or special election if the candidate complies with sub. (1) and:

AB950,16,22 (a) The candidate was an eligible candidate during the primary election campaign period, and is the candidate of a political party for the office which the candidate seeks.

AB950,16,24 (b) The political party which nominated the candidate meets at least one of the following qualifications:

AB950,17,4 1. If a primary election was held for the office which the candidate seeks, the combined vote received by all candidates for the nomination of that party for that office at the primary election was not less than 20% of the total votes cast for the candidates of all parties for that office.

AB950,17,7 2. In the previous general election, the nominee of that party for the office which the candidate seeks received the greatest or 2nd greatest number of votes cast and at least 20% of the total votes cast for all candidates for that office.

AB950,17,10 (3) The secretary of state shall certify a political party candidate as an eligible candidate for receipt of proportional public financing for a general or special election if the candidate complies with sub. (1) and:

AB950,17,13 (a) The candidate was an eligible candidate during the primary election campaign period, and is the candidate of a political party for the office which the candidate seeks.

AB950,17,15 (b) The political party which nominated the candidate meets at least one of the following qualifications:

AB950,17,19 1. If a primary election was held for the office which the candidate seeks, the combined vote received by all candidates for the nomination of that party for that office at the primary election was more than 5% but less than 20% of the total votes cast for candidates of all parties for that office.

AB950,17,22 2. In the previous general election, the nominee of that party for the office which the candidate seeks received at least 5% of the total votes cast for all candidates for that office.

AB950,18,2 11.504 Independent candidates. (1) An independent candidate for an office at a general or special election may qualify to receive a public financing benefit for the election if the candidate receives at least 150% of the number of qualifying contributions required for a candidate seeking the nomination of a political party for that office.

AB950,18,5 (2) An independent candidate who wishes to qualify for a public financing benefit shall receive all qualifying contributions during the public financing qualifying period.

AB950,18,13 11.505 Agreement by candidate. An eligible candidate who accepts a public financing benefit under ss. 11.502 to 11.522 during the primary election campaign period shall agree to comply with all requirements of ss. 11.502 to 11.522 throughout the election campaign period during the same campaign as a precondition to receipt of public financing. An eligible candidate who accepts a public financing benefit during a primary election campaign period may not elect to accept private contributions in violation of ss. 11.502 to 11.522 during the corresponding election campaign period.

AB950,18,17 11.506 Requirements imposed upon candidates. (1) An eligible candidate may not accept private contributions other than seed money contributions and qualifying contributions which the candidate accepts during the exploratory period and the public financing qualifying period.

AB950,18,25 (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 secretary of state on the 15th or the last day of the month which immediately follows the receipt of the contribution or the making of the disbursement, whichever comes first, except that during January, February and March records need only be furnished on the last day of the month. Each such candidate shall cooperate with any audit or examination by the secretary of state.

AB950,19,9 (3) In addition to adhering to requirements imposed under ss. 11.06 (5) and 11.12 (3), a candidate who receives a public financing benefit shall maintain records of all contributions received by the candidate of more than $5 but less than $50, including seed money contributions and qualifying contributions, which 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.

AB950,19,11 (4) The failure to record or provide the information specified in sub. (3) disqualifies a contribution from counting as a qualifying contribution.

AB950,19,14 (5) No candidate and no person acting on a candidate's behalf may deposit any contribution that is not recorded in accordance with sub. (3) in a candidate's campaign depository account.

AB950,19,19 (6) No candidate who receives a public financing benefit may accept more than $25 in cash from the contributor of any seed money contribution 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 which the candidate seeks or $500, whichever is greater.

AB950,19,23 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 $100 in an election for representative to the assembly, $200 in an election for state senator and $1,000 in an election for statewide office.

AB950,19,25 (2) No candidate who receives public financing may make any disbursement derived from personal funds after the close of the public financing qualifying period.

AB950,20,9 11.508 Seed money contributions. (1) A candidate may accept seed money contributions from any individual or committee prior to the end of the public financing qualifying period, provided the total contributions from one contributor, except personal funds and qualifying contributions otherwise permitted under ss. 11.502 to 11.522, do not exceed $100, and the aggregate contributions, including personal funds, but not including qualifying contributions, do not exceed $2,000 in an election for representative to the assembly, $3,000 in an election for state senator, $5,000 in an election for a statewide office other than governor or $10,000 in an election for governor.

AB950,20,12 (2) A candidate may make disbursements derived from seed money contributions only during the exploratory period and the public financing qualifying period.

AB950,21,2 11.509 Excess contributions. If a candidate receives excess seed money contributions or qualifying contributions on an aggregate basis, a candidate may retain the contributions and make disbursements derived from the contributions, up to the following limits: $3,000 in an election for representative to the assembly, $6,000 in an election for state senator, $15,000 in an election for a statewide office other than governor and $30,000 in an election for governor. An amount equivalent to the excess contributions shall be deducted by the secretary of state from the candidate's public financing benefit. A candidate shall return to the secretary of state all seed money and qualifying contributions that exceed the limits prescribed in this section within 48 hours after the end of the exploratory period. A candidate shall also return to the secretary of state any seed money and qualifying contributions that have not been encumbered or expended by the beginning of the primary election campaign period. The secretary of state shall deposit all contributions returned under this section in the democracy trust fund.

AB950,21,10 11.51 Certification by candidate; line of credit. (1) To apply for a public financing benefit, an eligible candidate shall certify to the secretary of state that the candidate has complied and will comply, throughout the applicable campaign, with all requirements of ss. 11.502 to 11.522 and that all disclosures required as of the time of application have been made, and shall present evidence of the requisite number of qualifying contributions received by the candidate. The candidate's request for certification shall be signed by the candidate and the candidate's campaign treasurer.

AB950,21,16 (2) The secretary of state shall distribute to each eligible candidate at the primary election a line of credit for public financing promptly after the candidate demonstrates his or her eligibility and, in any event, not later than 5 days after the end of the public financing qualifying period; however, no candidate may utilize a line of credit under this subsection until the beginning of the primary election campaign period.

AB950,21,22 (3) Except as provided in sub. (4), the secretary of state shall distribute to each eligible candidate at a general or special election a line of credit for public financing not later than 48 hours after the date of the primary election, except that no candidate for a particular office shall receive a line of credit until all candidates for the same office who apply and qualify for a public financing benefit have been certified as eligible candidates.

AB950,21,25 (4) An independent candidate who qualifies for public financing shall receive that candidate's line of credit for public financing in a general or special election on the first day of the election campaign period.