AB295: Bill Text

AB295,21,2 (b) The board shall distribute grants for the general or for a special election from the clean elections fund to each candidate who qualifies to receive a grant under this section as soon as possible after the date of the primary election for the office sought by the candidate, or the date on which the primary election would be held if a primary election were required to be held, except that, in the case of a candidate of a recognized political party for a partisan office, the board shall distribute a grant to a candidate for an office for which a primary election was held only if the candidate was nominated at that election.

AB295,21,5 (9) A candidate who receives a grant from the clean elections fund shall file with the board reports of all disbursements made in the manner provided under s. 11.06 (1) (g), without regard to the amounts thereof.

AB295,21,10 (10) (a) Except as provided in par. (b) and subs. (11) to (13), a candidate who qualifies to receive a grant from the clean elections fund under this section shall receive a grant in the following amount for the office sought by the candidate and for the election specified, less the aggregate amount of contributions accepted by the candidate under sub. (3):

AB295,21,11 Primary General or

AB295,21,12 Office Election Special Election

AB295,21,13 1. Governor $500,000 $1,000,000

AB295,21,14 2. State senator 36,000 72,000

AB295,21,15 3. Representative to the assembly 18,000 36,000

AB295,22,4 (b) If a candidate does not have an opponent who has qualified to have his or her name appear on the ballot at the election for which a grant is to be applied, the candidate shall receive a grant for a primary election equal to the average total disbursements made per candidate in primary election campaign periods, as determined by the board from reports filed by or on behalf of those candidates in accordance with s. 11.31 (5), for the office that the candidate seeks during the 4-year period preceding the date of the primary election, or a grant for a general or special election equal to the average total disbursements made per candidate in general and special election campaign periods, as determined by the board from reports filed by or on behalf of those candidates in accordance with s. 11.31 (5), for the office that the candidate seeks during the 4-year period preceding the date of the general or special election, except that a candidate for the office of governor shall receive a grant of $100,000 for a primary election and a grant of $200,000 for a general or special election.

AB295,22,7 (11) (a) In this subsection, "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.

AB295,22,21 (b) The dollar amounts of the grants specified in sub. (10) (a) and the grants specified for the office of governor in sub. (10) (b) shall be subject to a cost-of-living adjustment to be determined by rule of the board in accordance with this paragraph. To determine the adjustment, the board shall calculate the percentage difference between the consumer price index for the 12-month period ending on December 31 of each odd-numbered year and the consumer price index for calendar year 2003. For each biennium, the board shall adjust the grant amounts specified in sub. (10) by that percentage to the extent required to reflect any difference, rounded to the nearest multiple of $25 in the case of amounts of $1 or more, which amounts shall be in effect until a subsequent rule is promulgated under this subsection. Notwithstanding s. 227.24 (1) (a), (2) (b), and (3), determinations under this paragraph may be promulgated as an emergency rule under s. 227.24 without providing evidence that the emergency rule is necessary for the public peace, health, safety, or welfare, and without a finding of emergency.

AB295,23,6 (12) If any independent expenditure is made or any obligation to make an independent expenditure is incurred by any person in opposition to a candidate who receives a grant from the clean elections fund or in support of an opponent of such a candidate whose name is certified to appear on the same ballot, then the candidate who receives a grant shall receive an additional grant in the total amount of the obligations incurred and the independent expenditures made that were not previously reported as obligations, as reported to the appropriate filing officer under s. 11.12 (6) (b), but not to exceed, in combination with any additional grant payable to that candidate under sub. (13), 2.5 times the amount payable to the candidate under sub. (10), as adjusted under sub. (11).

AB295,23,20 (13) If a candidate who receives a grant from the clean elections fund is opposed on a primary or election ballot by another candidate who does not receive a grant or by another candidate who the board determines has violated his or her agreement under sub. (7), the candidate who receives a grant shall receive an additional grant in the amount by which the disbursements made by the other candidate exceed the amount of the grant payable for the office sought by the candidate in that election under sub. (10), as adjusted under sub. (11), but not to exceed, in combination with any additional grant payable to that candidate under sub. (12), 2.5 times the amount payable to the candidate under sub. (10), as adjusted under sub. (11). If a candidate who receives a grant from the clean elections fund is opposed on a primary or election ballot by more than one candidate who does not receive a grant or who the board determines has violated his or her agreement under sub. (7), the amount of the grant payable under this subsection is the largest amount that would be payable by reason of any candidate's opposition.

AB295,24,2 (14) If a candidate who makes an agreement under sub. (7) does not adhere to the agreement, the candidate shall forfeit an amount equivalent to any grant from the clean elections fund that is provided to the candidate and the candidate may be fined not more than 3 times the amount of any contributions received by the candidate in his or her campaign, as defined in s. 11.26 (17), exclusive of the amount of any grant or any contributions deposited under sub. (2) or received under sub. (3).

AB295,24,6 (15) No later than December 1 of each even-numbered year, a candidate who received a grant from the clean elections fund in that year or the preceding year shall return to the state treasurer the amount of any grant remaining in the candidate's campaign depository account.

AB295,24,7 (16) The board may promulgate rules required to implement this section.

AB295, s. 43 Section 43. 14.58 (20) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB295,24,11 14.58 (20) Election campaign fund. Make disbursements to each candidate certified under s. 7.08 (2) (c) or (cm) by the elections board as eligible to receive moneys a grant from the Wisconsin election campaign clean elections fund.

AB295, s. 44 Section 44. 20.510 (1) (q) of the statutes is repealed and recreated to read:

AB295,24,14 20.510 (1) (q) Clean elections fund grants. From the clean elections fund, a sum sufficient to make the grants to candidates required under s. 11.51.

AB295, s. 45 Section 45. 20.855 (4) (b) of the statutes is repealed.

AB295, s. 46 Section 46. 20.855 (4) (ba) of the statutes is created to read:

AB295,24,19 20.855 (4) (ba) Clean elections fund supplement. A sum sufficient equal to the amounts required to make the grants to candidates required under s. 11.51, to be transferred to the clean elections fund.

AB295, s. 47 Section 47. 25.17 (1) (aw) of the statutes is created to read:

AB295,24,21 25.17 (1) (aw) Clean elections fund (s. 25.42);

AB295, s. 48 Section 48. 25.17 (1) (ys) of the statutes is repealed.

AB295, s. 49 Section 49. 25.42 of the statutes is repealed and recreated to read:

AB295,25,2 25.42 Clean elections fund. All moneys deposited with the state treasurer under s. 11.51 (2) and (5) or returned to the state treasurer under s. 11.51 (15) and all moneys transferred to the clean elections fund under s. 20.855 (4) (ba) constitute the clean elections fund.

AB295, s. 50 Section 50. 71.10 (3) of the statutes is repealed.

AB295, s. 51 Section 51. Initial applicability.

AB295,25,6 (1) The treatment of sections 11.31 (9) and 11.51 (11) of the statutes first applies to adjustments for the biennium beginning on January 1, 2004.

AB295,25,7 (End)