AB250: Bill Text

AB250,18,6 11.515 Democracy trust fund. The democracy trust fund shall be administered by the state treasurer.

AB250,18,9 11.516 Administration. Except as otherwise specifically provided in ss. 11.501 to 11.522, the duties of and authority for administering and enforcing ss. 11.501 to 11.522 are vested in the board.

AB250,18,15 11.517 Penalties; enforcement. (1) Notwithstanding s. 11.60 (1), if an eligible candidate makes disbursements that exceed the total amount of the public financing benefit allocated to the candidate for any campaign and the total qualifying and seed money contributions lawfully accepted by the candidate, the candidate may be required to forfeit not more than 10 times the amount by which the disbursements exceed the allocation.

AB250,18,19 (2) Notwithstanding s. 11.60 (1), any eligible candidate who accepts contributions in excess of any limitation imposed under ss. 11.502 to 11.522 may be required to forfeit not more than 10 times the amount by which the contributions exceed the applicable limitation.

AB250,19,2 (3) If the board finds that there is probable cause to believe that a candidate has made excess disbursements or has accepted excess contributions contrary to sub. (1) or (2), the board shall attempt for a period of not more than 14 days after its finding to correct the matter by informal methods of conference and conciliation and to enter into a settlement and conciliation agreement under s. 5.05 (1) (c) with the person involved. A settlement and conciliation agreement made pursuant to this subsection shall be a matter of public record. Unless violated, a settlement and conciliation agreement is a bar to any civil action under sub. (4).

AB250,19,8 (4) If the board has probable cause to believe that a candidate has made excess disbursements or has accepted excess contributions and the board is unable to correct the matter by informal methods within the time prescribed in sub. (3), the board shall make a public finding of probable cause in the matter. After making a public finding, the board may bring a civil action against the candidate as provided in s. 5.05 (1) (c).

AB250,19,16 (5) If an elector believes that a candidate has violated ss. 11.502 to 11.522 and the elector is entitled to vote for or against the candidate in the election in connection with which the violation is alleged to occur, the elector may file a complaint with the board requesting it to take remedial action. If the board refuses to take remedial action or, within 30 days after the filing of such a complaint, fails to take remedial action, the elector may commence a civil action requesting the court to impose a forfeiture under sub. (1) or (2) in circuit court for the county where the board is authorized to bring an action under s. 5.05 (1) (c).

AB250,19,19 (6) The board and courts shall expedite all proceedings under ss. 11.502 to 11.522 so that all complaints brought prior to an election are resolved, to the extent possible, before the election is held.

AB250,19,23 (7) If a complaint brought under ss. 11.502 to 11.522 is resolved against the complainant and is found to have been brought in bad faith and without reasonable basis therefor, the board or court may assess costs, including reasonable attorney fees, against the complainant.

AB250,20,4 11.518 Prohibited acts. (1) Notwithstanding s. 11.61 (1) (c) if a candidate or agent of a candidate knowingly accepts more contributions than the candidate is entitled to receive, or makes disbursements exceeding the total amount of the public financing benefit received by the candidate and the qualifying and seed money contributions lawfully received by the candidate, the candidate or agent is guilty of a Class G felony.

AB250,20,8 (2) Notwithstanding s. 11.61 (1) (c), if in connection with the receipt or disbursement of a public financing benefit for an election campaign, any person knowingly provides false information to the board, or knowingly conceals or withholds information from the board, that person is guilty of a Class G felony.

AB250,20,12 11.522 Contributions to nonparticipating candidates; attributions. (1) A nonparticipating candidate may accept contributions from private sources without limitation, except that no person may make any contribution or contributions to a nonparticipating candidate exceeding a total of $1,000 during any campaign.

AB250,20,17 (2) In addition to the attribution required under s. 11.30 (2), any electronic or print communication paid for or authorized by a nonparticipating candidate shall contain the following sentence: "This communication is paid for with money raised from private sources. This candidate has not agreed to abide by campaign contribution and spending limits."

AB250, s. 19 Section 19. 11.60 (4) of the statutes, as affected by 2007 Wisconsin Act 1, is amended to read:

AB250,21,2 11.60 (4) Except as otherwise provided in ss. 5.05 (2m) (c) 15. and 16. and (h), 5.08, and 5.081, actions under this section or 11.517 may be brought by the board or by the district attorney for the county where the defendant resides or, if the defendant is a nonresident, by the district attorney for the county where the violation is alleged to have occurred. For purposes of this subsection, a person other than a natural person resides within a county if the person's principal place of operation is located within that county.

AB250, s. 20 Section 20. 11.61 (2) of the statutes, as affected by 2007 Wisconsin Act 1, is amended to read:

AB250,21,11 11.61 (2) Except as otherwise provided in ss. 5.05 (2m) (c) 15. and 16. and (i), 5.08, and 5.081, all prosecutions under this section or s. 11.518 shall be conducted by the district attorney for the county where the defendant resides or, if the defendant is a nonresident, by the district attorney for the county where the violation is alleged to have occurred. For purposes of this subsection, a person other than a natural person resides within a county if the person's principal place of operation is located within that county.

AB250, s. 21 Section 21. 20.005 (3) (schedule) of the statutes: at the appropriate place, insert the following amounts for the purposes indicated: - See PDF for table

AB250, s. 22 Section 22. 20.511 (1) (r) of the statutes is created to read:

AB250,22,2 20.511 (1) (r) Democracy trust fund administration. From the democracy trust fund, the amounts in the schedule for the administration of ss. 11.501 to 11.522.

AB250, s. 23 Section 23. 20.585 (1) (q) of the statutes is created to read:

AB250,22,6 20.585 (1) (q) Public financing benefits; candidates for justice. From the democracy trust fund, a sum sufficient to provide for payment of public financing benefits to eligible candidates under ss. 11.501 to 11.522.

AB250, s. 24 Section 24. 20.585 (1) (r) of the statutes is created to read:

AB250,22,9 20.585 (1) (r) Democracy trust fund administration. From the democracy trust fund, the amounts in the schedule for the administration of ss. 11.501 to 11.522.

AB250, s. 25 Section 25. 20.855 (4) (bb) of the statutes is created to read:

AB250,22,16 20.855 (4) (bb) Democracy trust fund transfer. A sum sufficient equal to the amounts appropriated under ss. 20.511 (1) (r) and 20.585 (1) (r) and the amounts required to provide public financing benefits that candidates qualify to receive from the democracy trust fund, to be transferred from the general fund to the democracy trust fund no later than the time required to make payments of grants under s. 11.51 (2) and (3).

AB250, s. 26 Section 26. 25.17 (1) (cm) of the statutes is created to read:

AB250,22,18 25.17 (1) (cm) Democracy trust fund (s. 25.421);

AB250, s. 27 Section 27. 25.421 of the statutes is created to read:

AB250,22,23 25.421 Democracy trust fund. All moneys appropriated under s. 20.855 (4) (bb) and all moneys deposited in the state treasury under ss. 11.509, 11.51 (4) and 11.511 (5r) constitute the democracy trust fund, to be expended for the purposes of ss. 11.501 to 11.522.

AB250, s. 28 Section 28. Effective dates. This act takes effect on the day after publication, except as follows:

AB250,23,3 (1) The treatment of sections 11.60 (4) and 11.61 (2) of the statutes takes effect on December 1 following the date of publication or on the initiation date specified in 2007 Wisconsin Act 1, Section 209 (1), whichever is later.

AB250,23,4 (End)