SB294,34 15Section 34. 5.05 (3g) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB294,17,1716 5.05 (3g) Chief election officer. The board commission administrator shall
17designate an employee of the board to serve as the chief election officer of this state.
SB294,35 18Section 35. 5.05 (5e) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB294,18,819 5.05 (5e) Biennial Annual report. The board commission shall include in its
20biennial
submit an annual report under s. 15.04 (1) (d) and shall include in its annual
21report
the names and duties of all individuals employed by the board commission and
22a summary of its determinations and advisory opinions issued under sub. (6a).
23Except as authorized or required under sub. (5s) (f) 2., the board commission shall
24make sufficient alterations in the summaries to prevent disclosing the identities of
25individuals or organizations involved in the decisions or opinions. The board may

1also include in its biennial report any information compiled under s. 11.21 (7)
The
2commission shall identify in its report the statutory duties of the commission
3administrator, together with a description of the manner in which those duties are
4being fulfilled. Notwithstanding sub. (5s) and s. 12.13 (5), the commission shall also
5specify in its report the total number of investigations conducted by the commission
6since the last annual report and a description of the nature of each investigation
. The
7board commission shall make such further reports on the matters within its
8jurisdiction and such recommendations for further legislation as it deems desirable.
SB294,36 9Section 36. 5.05 (5s) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB294,18,1410 5.05 (5s) Access to records. (intro.) Records obtained or prepared by the board
11commission in connection with an investigation, including the full text of any
12complaint received by the board commission, are not subject to the right of inspection
13and copying under s. 19.35 (1), except as provided in pars. (d) and (e) and except that
14follows:
SB294,37 15Section 37. 5.05 (5s) (am) of the statutes is created to read:
SB294,18,1816 5.05 (5s) (am) The commission shall provide to the joint committee on finance
17records obtained or prepared by the commission in connection with an ongoing
18investigation when required under sub. (2q).
SB294,38 19Section 38. 5.05 (5s) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB294,18,2220 5.05 (5s) (b) Investigatory records of the board commission may be made public
21in the course of a prosecution initiated under chs. 5 to 10 or 12, subch. III of ch. 13,
22or subch. III of ch. 19
.
SB294,39 23Section 39. 5.05 (5s) (bm) of the statutes, as created by 2015 Wisconsin Act 2,
24is amended to read:
SB294,19,3
15.05 (5s) (bm) The board commission shall provide investigatory records to the
2state auditor and the employees of the legislative audit bureau to the extent
3necessary for the bureau to carry out its duties under s. 13.94.
SB294,40 4Section 40. 5.05 (5s) (d) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB294,19,115 5.05 (5s) (d) If the board commission commences a civil prosecution of a person
6for an alleged violation of chs. 5 to 10 or 12, subch. III of ch. 13, or subch. III of ch.
719
as the result of an investigation, the person who is the subject of the investigation
8may authorize the board commission to make available for inspection and copying
9under s. 19.35 (1) records of the investigation pertaining to that person if the records
10are available by law to the subject person and the board commission shall then make
11those records available.
SB294,41 12Section 41. 5.05 (5s) (f) 2. a. and b. of the statutes are consolidated,
13renumbered 5.05 (5s) (f) 2. a. and amended to read:
SB294,19,2214 5.05 (5s) (f) 2. a. The board commission may make records obtained in
15connection with an informal advisory opinion
under subd. 1. public with the consent
16of the individual requesting the informal advisory opinion or the organization or
17governmental body on whose behalf it is requested. b. A person who makes or
18purports to make public the substance of or any portion of an informal advisory
19opinion requested by or on behalf of the person is deemed to have waived the
20confidentiality of the request for an informal advisory opinion and of any records
21obtained or prepared by the board commission in connection with the request for an
22informal advisory opinion.
SB294,42 23Section 42. 5.05 (5s) (f) 2. c. of the statutes is amended to read:
SB294,20,324 5.05 (5s) (f) 2. c. The board commission shall make public formal and informal
25advisory opinions and records obtained in connection with requests for formal or

1informal
advisory opinions relating to matters under the jurisdiction of the elections
2division
commission, including the identity of individuals requesting such opinions
3or organizations or governmental bodies on whose behalf they are requested
.
SB294,43 4Section 43. 5.05 (5t) of the statutes is created to read:
SB294,20,105 5.05 (5t) Guidance following binding court decisions. Within 2 months
6following the publication of a decision of a state or federal court that is binding on
7the commission and this state, the commission shall issue updated guidance or
8formal advisory opinions, commence the rule-making procedure to revise
9administrative rules promulgated by the commission, or request an opinion from the
10attorney general on the applicability of the court decision.
SB294,44 11Section 44. 5.05 (6a) of the statutes is renumbered 5.05 (6a) (a) 1. and
12amended to read:
SB294,21,413 5.05 (6a) (a) 1. Any individual, either personally or on behalf of an organization
14or governmental body, may make a written or electronic request of the board
15commission in writing, electronically, or by telephone for an a formal or informal
16advisory opinion regarding the propriety under chs. 5 to 10 or 12, subch. III of ch. 13,
17or subch. III of ch. 19
of any matter to which the person is or may become a party;
18and any
. Any appointing officer, with the consent of a prospective appointee, may
19request of the board an commission a formal or informal advisory opinion regarding
20the propriety under chs. 5 to 10 or 12, subch. III of ch. 13, or subch. III of ch. 19 of
21any matter to which the prospective appointee is or may become a party. The board
22commission shall review a request for an advisory opinion and may issue a formal
23or informal written or electronic advisory opinion to the person making the request.
24Except as authorized or required for opinions specified in sub. (5s) (f) 2., the board's
25commission's deliberations and actions upon such requests shall be in meetings not

1open to the public. No person acting in good faith upon an advisory opinion issued
2by the board is subject to criminal or civil prosecution for so acting, if the material
3facts are as stated in the opinion request
A member of the commission may, by
4written request, require the commission to review an advisory opinion
.
SB294,21,11 52. To have legal force and effect, each formal and informal advisory opinion
6issued by the board commission must be supported by specific legal authority under
7a statute or other law, or by specific case or common law authority. Each formal and
8informal
advisory opinion shall include a citation to each statute or other law and
9each case or common law authority upon which the opinion is based, and shall
10specifically articulate or explain which parts of the cited authority are relevant to the
11board's commission's conclusion and why they are relevant.
SB294,21,17 12(b) 1. The board commission may authorize its legal counsel the commission
13administrator or his or her designee
to issue an informal written advisory opinion
14or to transmit an informal advisory opinion electronically on behalf of the board
15commission, subject to such limitations as the board commission deems appropriate.
16Every informal advisory opinion shall be consistent with applicable formal advisory
17opinions issued by the board. commission, statute or other law, and case law.
SB294,22,4 18(a) 4. At each regular meeting of the commission, the administrator shall
19review informal advisory opinions requested of and issued by the administrator and
20that relate to recurring issues or issues of first impression for which no formal
21advisory opinion has been issued. The commission may determine to issue a formal
22advisory opinion adopting or modifying the informal advisory opinion.
If the board
23commission disagrees with an a formal or informal advisory opinion that has been
24issued by or on behalf of the board commission, the board commission may withdraw
25the opinion or, issue a revised formal or informal advisory opinion and no, or request

1an opinion from the attorney general. No
person acting after the date of the
2withdrawal or issuance of the revised advisory opinion is exempted from prosecution
3under this subsection if the opinion upon which the person's action is based has been
4withdrawn or revised in relevant degree.
SB294,22,8 5(a) 5. Except as authorized or required under sub. (5s) (f) 2., no member or
6employee of the board commission may make public the identity of the individual
7requesting a formal or informal advisory opinion or of individuals or organizations
8mentioned in the opinion.
SB294,22,14 9(c) 2. Any person receiving requesting a formal or informal advisory opinion
10under this subsection who disagrees with the opinion paragraph may request a
11public or private hearing before the board commission to discuss the opinion. The
12board commission shall grant a request for a public or private hearing under this
13subsection. After hearing the matter, the board may reconsider its opinion and may
14issue a revised opinion to the person.
paragraph.
SB294,22,18 15(c) 3. Promptly upon issuance of each formal advisory opinion that is not open
16to public access
, the board commission shall publish a summary of the opinion that
17is consistent with applicable requirements
together with the information specified
18under sub. (5s) (f) 2. c. on the commission's Internet site.
SB294,45 19Section 45. 5.05 (6a) (a) 3. of the statutes is created to read: