11.23 Annotation
If narrowly construed to apply only to financial transactions directly related to express advocacy of a particular result in a referendum, this section is constitutional. 65 Atty. Gen. 145.
11.23 Annotation
School board which informs electorate of facts pertinent to subject of school district referendum need not register or file campaign financing reports under ch. 11. 68 Atty. Gen. 167.
11.23 Annotation
Limitations on contributions to committees formed to support or oppose referendum discussed. Citizens Against Rent Control v. Berkeley, 454 US 290 (1981).
11.24
11.24
Unlawful political contributions. 11.24(1)
(1) No person may, directly or indirectly, make any contribution other than from funds or property belonging to the contributor. No person may, directly or indirectly, furnish funds or property to another person for the purpose of making a contribution in other than the person's own name. No person may intentionally accept or receive any contribution made in violation of this subsection.
11.24(2)
(2) No person may intentionally accept or receive any contribution made in violation of this chapter.
11.24 Annotation
The unit of prosecution under sub. (1) is every transfer of funds to another person accompanied by the false listing of any single contributor. See note to 11.38, citing State v. Dreske, 88 W (2d) 60, 276 NW (2d) 324 (Ct. App. 1979).
11.25
11.25
Unlawful political disbursements and obligations. 11.25(1)(1) No person, committee or group may intentionally receive or accept anything of value, or any promise or pledge thereof, constituting a disbursement made or obligation incurred for political purposes contrary to law.
11.25(2)(a)(a) No person, committee or group may make or authorize a disbursement or the incurrence of an obligation from moneys solicited for political purposes for a purpose which is other than political, except as specifically authorized by law.
11.25(2)(b)
(b) Notwithstanding
par. (a), a registrant may accept contributions and make disbursements from a campaign depository account for the purpose of making expenditures in connection with a campaign for national office; for payment of civil penalties incurred by the registrant under this chapter; or for payment of the expenses of nonpartisan campaigns to increase voter registration or participation. Notwithstanding
par. (a), a personal campaign committee or support committee may accept contributions and make disbursements from a campaign depository account for payment of inaugural expenses of an individual who is elected to state or local office. If such expenses are paid from contributions made to the campaign depository account, they are reportable under
s. 11.06 (1) as disbursements. Otherwise, such expenses are not reportable under
s. 11.06 (1). If contributions from the campaign depository account are used for such expenses, they are subject to
s. 11.26.
11.25(3)
(3) No moneys solicited for political purposes and reported under this chapter may be invested for the purpose of producing income unless the investment is in direct obligations of the United States and of agencies and corporations wholly owned by the United States, commercial paper maturing within one year from the date of investment, preferred shares of a corporation, an interest-bearing account at any financial institution as defined in
s. 705.01 (3) or securities of an investment company registered under the federal investment company act of 1940 (
15 USC 80a) and registered for public offer and sale in this state of the type commonly referred to as a "money market fund".
11.26
11.26
Limitation on contributions. 11.26(1)
(1) No individual may make any contribution or contributions to a candidate for election or nomination to any of the following offices and to any individual or committee under
s. 11.06 (7) acting solely in support of such a candidate or solely in opposition to the candidate's opponent to the extent of more than a total of the amounts specified per candidate:
11.26(1)(a)
(a) Candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, state superintendent or justice, $10,000.
11.26(1)(c)
(c) Candidates for representative to the assembly, $500.
11.26(1)(cc)
(cc) Candidates for court of appeals judge in districts which contain a county having a population of more than 500,000, $3,000.
11.26(1)(cg)
(cg) Candidates for court of appeals judge in other districts, $2,500.
11.26(1)(cn)
(cn) Candidates for circuit judge in circuits having a population of more than 300,000, or candidates for district attorney in prosecutorial units having a population of more than 300,000, $3,000.
11.26(1)(cw)
(cw) Candidates for circuit judge in other circuits or candidates for district attorney in other prosecutorial units, $1,000.
11.26(1)(d)
(d) Candidates for local offices, an amount equal to the greater of 1) $250; or 2) one cent times the number of inhabitants of the jurisdiction or district, according to the latest federal census or the census information on which the district is based, as certified by the appropriate filing officer, but not more than $3,000.
11.26(2)
(2) No committee other than a political party committee or legislative campaign committee may make any contribution or contributions to a candidate for election or nomination to any of the following offices and to any individual or committee under
s. 11.06 (7) acting solely in support of such a candidate or solely in opposition to the candidate's opponent to the extent of more than a total of the amounts specified per candidate:
11.26(2)(a)
(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).
11.26(2)(c)
(c) Candidates for representative to the assembly, $500.
11.26(2)(cc)
(cc) Candidates for court of appeals judge in districts which contain a county having a population of more than 500,000, $3,000.
11.26(2)(cg)
(cg) Candidates for court of appeals judge in other districts, $2,500.
11.26(2)(cn)
(cn) Candidates for circuit judge in circuits having a population of more than 300,000, or candidates for district attorney in prosecutorial units having a population of more than 300,000, $3,000.
11.26(2)(cw)
(cw) Candidates for circuit judge in other circuits or candidates for district attorney in other prosecutorial units, $1,000.
11.26(2)(e)
(e) Candidates for local offices, an amount equal to the greater of the following:
11.26(2)(e)2.
2. Three-fourths of one cent times the number of inhabitants of the jurisdiction or district, according to the latest federal census or the census information on which the district is based, as certified by the appropriate filing officer, but not more than $2,500.
11.26(3)
(3) The contribution limitations of
subs. (1) and
(2) apply cumulatively to the entire primary and election campaign in which a candidate participates, whether or not there is a contested primary election. The total limitation may be apportioned in any manner desired between the primary and election. All moneys cumulate regardless of the time of contribution.
11.26(4)
(4) No individual may make any contribution or contributions to all candidates for state and local offices and to any individuals who or committees which are subject to a registration requirement under
s. 11.05, including legislative campaign committees and committees of a political party, to the extent of more than a total of $10,000 in any calendar year.
11.26(5)
(5) The contribution limits provided in
subs. (1) and
(4) do not apply to a candidate who makes any contribution or contributions to his or her own campaign for office from the candidate's personal funds or property or the personal funds or property which are owned jointly or as marital property with the candidate's spouse, with respect to any contribution or contributions made to that candidate's campaign only. A candidate's personal contributions shall be deposited in his or her campaign depository account and reported in the normal manner.
11.26(6)
(6) When a candidate adopts a preexisting support committee as his or her personal campaign committee, the support committee is deemed to have been the same committee as the candidate's personal campaign committee for purposes of the application of
subs. (1),
(2) and
(9). The limitations prescribed in
subs. (2) and
(9) do not apply to the transfer of contributions which is made at the time of such adoption, but do apply to the contributions which have been made by any other committee to the support committee at the time of adoption.
11.26(8)(a)(a) No political party as defined in
s. 5.02 (13) may receive more than a total of $150,000 in value of its contributions in any biennium from all other committees, excluding contributions from legislative campaign committees and transfers between party committees of the party. In this paragraph, a biennium commences with January 1 of each odd-numbered year and ends with December 31 of each even-numbered year.
11.26(8)(b)
(b) No such political party may receive more than a total of $6,000 in value of its contributions in any calendar year from any specific committee or its subunits or affiliates, excluding legislative campaign and political party committees.
11.26(8)(c)
(c) No committee, other than a political party or legislative campaign committee, may make any contribution or contributions, directly or indirectly, to a political party under
s. 5.02 (13) in a calendar year exceeding a total value of $6,000.
11.26(9)(a)(a) No individual who is a candidate for state or local office may receive and accept more than 65% of the value of the total disbursement level determined under
s. 11.31 for the office for which he or she is a candidate during any primary and election campaign combined from all committees subject to a filing requirement, including political party and legislative campaign committees.
11.26(9)(b)
(b) No individual who is a candidate for state or local office may receive and accept more than 45% of the value of the total disbursement level determined under
s. 11.31 for the office for which he or she is a candidate during any primary and election campaign combined from all committees other than political party and legislative campaign committees subject to a filing requirement.
11.26(9)(c)
(c) For purposes of
pars. (a) and
(b), a "committee" includes the Wisconsin election campaign fund.
11.26(10)
(10) No candidate for state office who files a sworn statement and application to receive a grant from the Wisconsin election campaign fund may make contributions of more than 200% of the amounts specified in
sub. (1) to the candidate's own campaign from the candidate's personal funds or property or the personal funds or property which are owned jointly or as marital property with the candidate's spouse, unless the board determines that the candidate is not eligible to receive a grant, the candidate withdraws his or her application under
s. 11.50 (2) (h), or
s. 11.50 (2) (i) applies. For purposes of this subsection, any contribution received by a candidate or his or her personal campaign committee from a committee which is registered with the federal elections commission as the authorized committee of the candidate under
2 USC 432 (e) shall be treated as a contribution made by the candidate to his or her own campaign. The contribution limit of
sub. (4) applies to amounts contributed by such a candidate personally to the candidate's own campaign and to other campaigns, except that a candidate may exceed the limitation if authorized under this subsection to contribute more than the amount specified to the candidate's own campaign, up to the amount of the limitation.
11.26(11)
(11) Excess contributions shall be returned to the donor or treated in accordance with
s. 11.12 (2) or
11.23 (2), at the option of the treasurer.
11.26(12)
(12) In computing the limitations under this section, any transfer of funds between the candidates for governor and lieutenant governor of the same political party in the general election may be excluded.
11.26(12m)
(12m) For purposes of this section, a contribution of money received from a conduit identified in the manner prescribed in
s. 11.06 (11) (a) shall be considered a contribution received from the original contributor.
11.26(13)
(13) Except as provided in
sub. (9), contributions received from the Wisconsin election campaign fund are not subject to limitation by this section.
11.26(13m)
(13m) Contributions utilized for the following purposes are not subject to limitation by this section:
11.26(13m)(a)
(a) For the purpose of payment of legal fees and other expenses incurred as a result of a recount at an election.
11.26(13m)(b)
(b) For the purpose of payment of legal fees and other expenses incurred in connection with the circulation, offer to file or filing, or with the response to the circulation, offer to file or filing, of a petition to recall an officer prior to the time a recall primary or election is ordered, or after that time if incurred in contesting or defending the order.
11.26(14)
(14) No candidate or committee may receive and accept any contribution or contributions made in violation of this section.
11.26(15)
(15) The fact that 2 or more committees, other than personal campaign committees, utilize common policies and practices concerning the endorsement of candidates or agree to make contributions only to such endorsed candidates does not affect the right of each committee independently to make contributions up to the amount specified under
sub. (2).
11.26(16)
(16) Contributions constituting surplus materials acquired in connection with a previous campaign of a candidate are not subject to limitation by this section, if the materials were previously reported as a contribution by that candidate.
11.26(17)(a)(a) For purposes of application of the limitations imposed in
subs. (1),
(2),
(9) and
(10), the "campaign" of a candidate begins and ends at the times specified in this subsection.
11.26(17)(b)
(b) In the case of a candidate who has not been a candidate in a previous election for which he or she continues to be registered under
s. 11.05, the "campaign" of the candidate begins when the candidate or the candidate's personal campaign committee is required to file a registration statement with the appropriate filing officer.
11.26(17)(c)
(c) In the case of a candidate who has been a candidate in a previous election for which he or she continues to be registered under
s. 11.05, the "campaign" of the candidate begins on the day after the closing date for the period covered by the first financial report filed by or on behalf of the candidate subsequent to the date of the previous election, or if the candidate has incurred obligations from a previous campaign, the date on which the candidate receives sufficient contributions to retire those obligations, whichever is later, except that the "campaign" of a candidate at a special election begins when the candidate or the candidate's personal campaign committee is required to file or change the information on a registration statement as a result of the candidacy.
11.26(17)(d)
(d) In the case of any candidate at the spring primary or election or the September primary or general election, the "campaign" of the candidate ends on June 30 or December 31 following the date on which the election or primary is held in which the candidate is elected or defeated, or the date on which the candidate receives sufficient contributions to retire any obligations incurred in connection with that contest, whichever is later. In the case of any candidate at a special primary or election, the "campaign" of the candidate ends on the last day of the month following the month in which the primary or election is held in which the candidate is elected or defeated, or the date on which the candidate receives sufficient contributions to retire any obligations incurred in connection with that contest, whichever is later.
11.26(17)(e)
(e) The campaign of a candidate in a future election who has incurred obligations from a previous campaign may begin before the candidate receives sufficient contributions to retire all obligations incurred in connection with the previous campaign, but may not begin before the day after the closing date for the period covered by the first financial report filed by or on behalf of the candidate subsequent to the date of the previous election except as provided for a special election under
par. (c).
11.26(17)(f)
(f) Notwithstanding
pars. (b) to
(d), contributions for inaugural expenses paid by a candidate, personal campaign committee or support committee authorized under
s. 11.05 (3) (p) from a campaign depository account are subject to the limitations of this section, but the registrant paying the expenses may elect to charge the contributions to a present or possible future campaign of the individual in connection with whose inauguration the expenses are paid.
11.26 Note
NOTE: 1985 Wis. Act 303, s.
1, states legislative intent regarding political party and legislative campaign committees' independent expenditures.
11.26 Annotation
Sub. (9) (a) does not violate first amendment or equal protection; it is narrowly tailored to accomplish legislative goal while allowing significant political expression. Gard v. State Elections Board, 156 W (2d) 28, 456 NW (2d) 809 (1990).
11.26 Annotation
Constitutionality of various provisions discussed. 65 Atty. Gen. 237.
11.265
11.265
Legislative campaign committees. 11.265(1)
(1) No more than one legislative campaign committee may be established by the members of one political party in each house of the legislature.
11.265(2)
(2) A legislative campaign committee may accept no contributions and make no contributions or disbursements exceeding the amounts authorized for a political party under this chapter.
11.265(3)
(3) Amounts contributed by a legislative campaign committee to a political party are not subject to limitation by this chapter.
11.265 History
History: 1979 c. 328;
1985 a. 303.
11.27
11.27
False reports and statements. 11.27(1)
(1) No person may prepare or submit a false report or statement to a filing officer under this chapter.
11.27(2)
(2) In civil actions under this chapter, the acts of every member of a personal campaign committee are presumed to be with the knowledge and approval of the candidate, until it has been clearly proved that the candidate did not have knowledge of and approve the same.
11.27 History
History: 1973 c. 334;
1979 c. 328.
11.29
11.29
Communications for political purposes. 11.29(1)(1) Nothing in this chapter restricts any corporation, cooperative or voluntary association other than a political party or personal campaign committee from making disbursements for the purpose of communicating only with its members, shareholders or subscribers to the exclusion of all other persons, with respect to endorsements of candidates, positions on a referendum or explanation of its views or interests, without reporting such activity. No such corporation, cooperative or voluntary association may solicit contributions from persons who are not members, shareholders or subscribers to be used for such purposes.
11.29(2)
(2) Notwithstanding
s. 11.12 (1), a political party committee may make single communications to its members at periodic intervals with respect to an explanation of its views or interests, a position on a referendum to be submitted to the voters, or endorsement of an entire slate of candidates at any jurisdictional level or levels. Such activity shall be reported by the party committee.
11.29(3)
(3) No communications medium may be utilized for communications authorized under this section unless the medium is restricted solely to members, shareholders or subscribers.
11.29(4)
(4) For purposes of this section, the members of a local or regional cooperative are deemed to be members of a state cooperative if the local or regional cooperative is a member of the state cooperative.
11.30
11.30
Identification of political contributions, disbursements and communications. 11.30(1)
(1) No disbursement may be made or obligation incurred anonymously, and no contribution or disbursement may be made or obligation incurred in a fictitious name or by one person or organization in the name of another for any political purpose.
