AB531: Bill Text

2021 Assembly BILL 531

September 10, 2021 - Introduced by Representatives Sinicki, Subeck, Brostoff, Anderson, Andraca, Baldeh, Cabrera, Conley, Considine, Hebl, Hesselbein, Milroy, Neubauer, Ohnstad, Pope, Shankland, Shelton and Snodgrass, cosponsored by Senators Larson, Agard, Carpenter and Johnson. Referred to Committee on Campaigns and Elections.

AB531,1,4 An Act to amend 11.1101 (figure), 11.1101 (1) (intro.), 11.1101 (1) (a), 11.1101 (2) (intro.), 11.1101 (2) (a), 11.1101 (3), 11.1101 (4), 11.1103, 11.1112 and 11.1113 (3) (b); to repeal and recreate 11.1104; and to create 11.1101 (5) and 11.1204 (4) of the statutes; relating to: campaign contribution limits.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

Current law allows unlimited campaign contributions to certain entities, such as political action committees, legislative campaign committees, and political parties, but prohibits a political action committee from contributing more than $12,000 in any calendar year to a political party or legislative campaign committee. This bill limits the contributions that an individual may make to a political party or legislative campaign committee to the amounts that an individual may make to a candidate committee, as provided under the bill. The bill also limits the contributions that a political party or legislative campaign committee may make to a candidate committee to the amounts that an individual may make to a candidate committee, as provided under the bill. In addition, the bill limits the contributions that a candidate committee may make to a political party or legislative campaign committee to the amounts that the candidate committee may make under current law to another candidate committee but retains the unlimited contributions under current law for contributions that a candidate makes to his or her candidate committee from the candidate's personal funds.

The bill also decreases the individual and candidate committee contribution limit from $20,000 to $10,000 for contributions made to candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, state superintendent, or justice of the supreme court and reduces by half the limits that apply to political action committee contributions to candidates. The limits under the bill are the same, generally, as those that applied to political action committee contributions prior to 2016.

Finally, current law allows a political party or legislative campaign committee to establish a segregated fund to use for general purposes but not for making contributions to a candidate committee or for making disbursements for express advocacy. Persons other than a political action committee, corporation, cooperative, labor organization, or American Indian tribe may make unlimited contributions to the segregated fund. A political action committee, corporation, cooperative, labor organization, or American Indian tribe may make a contribution to the fund in amounts not to exceed $12,000 in the aggregate in a calendar year. The bill eliminates the provision allowing a political party or legislative campaign committee to establish such a fund.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

AB531,1 Section 1. 11.1101 (figure) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB531,3,16 Figure 11.1101: - See PDF for table

AB531,2 Section 2. 11.1101 (1) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB531,3,21 11.1101 (1) Individual limits. (intro.) An individual may contribute to a candidate committee, political party, or legislative campaign committee no more than the following amounts specified for the a candidate whose nomination or election the individual committee supports [See Figure 11.1101 following]:

AB531,3 Section 3. 11.1101 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB531,3,24 11.1101 (1) (a) Candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, state superintendent, or justice, $20,000 $10,000.

AB531,4 Section 4 . 11.1101 (2) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB531,3,30 11.1101 (2) Candidate committees. (intro.) A candidate committee may contribute to another candidate committee, a political party, or a legislative campaign committee no more than the following amounts specified for the a candidate whose nomination or election the other candidate committee, political party, or legislative campaign committee supports [See Figure 11.1101 following]:

AB531,5 Section 5. 11.1101 (2) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB531,3,33 11.1101 (2) (a) Candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, state superintendent, or justice, $20,000 $10,000.

AB531,6 Section 6. 11.1101 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB531,4,2 11.1101 (3) Political action committees. A political action committee may contribute to a political party or legislative campaign committee no more than $12,000 in any calendar year, and to a candidate committee no more than the following amounts specified for the candidate whose nomination or election the committee supports [See Figure 11.1101 following]:

AB531,4,3 (a) Candidates for governor, $86,000 $43,000.

AB531,4,4 (b) Candidates for lieutenant governor, $26,000 $13,000.

AB531,4,5 (c) Candidates for attorney general, $44,000 $22,000.

AB531,4,7 (d) Candidates for secretary of state, state treasurer, state superintendent, or justice, $18,000 $9,000.

AB531,4,8 (e) Candidates for state senator, $2,000 $1,000.

AB531,4,9 (f) Candidates for representative to the assembly, $1,000 $500.

AB531,4,11 (g) Candidates for court of appeals judge in districts which contain a county having a population of more than 750,000, $6,000 $3,000.

AB531,4,12 (h) Candidates for court of appeals judge in other districts, $5,000 $2,500.

AB531,4,15 (i) 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, $6,000 $3,000.

AB531,4,17 (j) Candidates for circuit judge in other circuits or candidates for district attorney in other prosecutorial units, $2,000 $1,000.

AB531,4,18 (k) Candidates for local offices, an amount equal to the greater of the following:

AB531,4,19 1. Four Two hundred dollars.

AB531,4,23 2. Two cents 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 $5,000 $2,500.

AB531,7 Section 7. 11.1101 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB531,5,5 11.1101 (4) Other persons. A person, other than a person subject to sub. (1), (2), or (3) or s. 11.1112, may contribute to a political party or legislative campaign committee no more than $12,000 in any calendar year, and to a candidate committee no more than the following amounts specified for the candidate whose nomination or election the committee supports:

AB531,5,6 (a) Candidates for governor, $86,000 $43,000.

AB531,5,7 (b) Candidates for lieutenant governor, $26,000 $13,000.

AB531,5,8 (c) Candidates for attorney general, $44,000 $22,000.

AB531,5,10 (d) Candidates for secretary of state, state treasurer, state superintendent, or justice, $18,000 $9,000.

AB531,5,11 (e) Candidates for state senator, $2,000 $1,000.

AB531,5,12 (f) Candidates for representative to the assembly, $1,000 $500.

AB531,5,14 (g) Candidates for court of appeals judge in districts that contain a county having a population of more than 750,000, $6,000 $3,000.

AB531,5,15 (h) Candidates for court of appeals judge in other districts, $5,000 $2,500.

AB531,5,18 (i) 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, $6,000 $3,000.

AB531,5,20 (j) Candidates for circuit judge in other circuits or candidates for district attorney in other prosecutorial units, $2,000 $1,000.

AB531,5,21 (k) Candidates for local offices, an amount equal to the greater of the following:

AB531,5,22 1. Four Two hundred dollars.

AB531,6,2 2. Two cents 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 $5,000 $2,500.

AB531,8 Section 8. 11.1101 (5) of the statutes is created to read:

AB531,6,7 11.1101 (5) Political parties and legislative campaign committees. A political party or legislative campaign committee may contribute to a candidate committee no more than the following amounts specified for the candidate whose nomination or election the candidate committee supports:

AB531,6,9 (a) Candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, state superintendent, or justice, $10,000.

AB531,6,10 (b) Candidates for state senator, $1,000.

AB531,6,11 (c) Candidates for representative to the assembly, $1,000.

AB531,6,13 (d) Candidates for court of appeals judge in districts which contain a county having a population of more than 750,000, $3,000.

AB531,6,14 (e) Candidates for court of appeals judge in other districts, $2,500.

AB531,6,17 (f) 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.

AB531,6,19 (g) Candidates for circuit judge in other circuits or candidates for district attorney in other prosecutorial units, $1,000.

AB531,6,20 (h) Candidates for local offices, an amount equal to the greater of the following:

AB531,6,21 1. Two hundred dollars.

AB531,6,24 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 $2,500.

AB531,9 Section 9. 11.1103 of the statutes is amended to read:

AB531,7,3 11.1103 Applicable periods. (1) For an individual who is a candidate for an office that the individual holds, the limits under s. 11.1101 (1) to (3) (5) apply during the term of that office.

AB531,7,8 (2) For an individual who is a candidate for an office that the individual does not hold, the limits under s. 11.1101 (1) to (3) (5) apply during the period beginning on the date on which the individual becomes a candidate under s. 11.0101 (1) (a) and ending on the day before the term of office begins for the office sought by the candidate.

AB531,10 Section 10. 11.1104 of the statutes is repealed and recreated to read:

AB531,7,12 11.1104 Exceptions. (1) For the period beginning on the day after the day of the general election and ending on the day of the next general election, no person may make any of the following contributions in a total amount exceeding $10,000:

AB531,7,13 (a) Contributions to a political action committee.

AB531,7,14 (b) Contributions transferred between political action committees.

AB531,7,15 (c) Contributions to a legislative campaign committee.

AB531,7,16 (d) Contributions to a political party.

AB531,7,18 (e) Contributions made by a political party or legislative campaign committee to a candidate committee.

AB531,7,20 (f) Contributions transferred between the candidates for governor and lieutenant governor of the same political party.

AB531,7,22 (g) Contributions used to pay legal fees and other expenses incurred as a result of a recount under s. 9.01.

AB531,8,2 (h) Contributions used to pay legal fees and other expenses incurred in connection with or in response to circulating, offering to file, or filing a petition to recall an office holder prior to the time that a recall primary or election is ordered, or after that time if incurred to contest or defend the order.

AB531,8,3 (i) Contributions to a recall committee.

AB531,8,4 (j) Contributions to a referendum committee.

AB531,8,5 (k) Contributions to an independent expenditure committee.

AB531,8,8 (2) A candidate may make unlimited contributions from the candidate's personal funds or property or the personal funds or property that are owned jointly or as marital property with the candidate's spouse to his or her candidate committee.

AB531,11 Section 11. 11.1112 of the statutes is amended to read:

AB531,8,15 11.1112 Corporations, cooperatives, and tribes. No foreign or domestic corporation, no association organized under ch. 185 or 193, no labor organization, and no federally recognized American Indian Tribe may make a contribution to a committee, other than an independent expenditure committee or referendum committee, but may make a contribution to a segregated fund as provided under s. 11.1104 (6) in amounts not to exceed $12,000 in the aggregate in a calendar year.

AB531,12 Section 12. 11.1113 (3) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB531,8,24 11.1113 (3) (b) A contribution made to a candidate committee, political party, or legislative campaign committee by a single-member limited liability company in which the sole member is an individual is considered a contribution made by that individual and subject to the individual limits under s. 11.1101 (1). A limited liability company that makes a contribution under this paragraph shall affirm to the candidate committee, political party, or legislative campaign committee that it is a single-member limited liability company in which the sole member is an individual and eligible to make the contribution.

AB531,13 Section 13 . 11.1204 (4) of the statutes is created to read:

AB531,9,2 11.1204 (4) No person may make contributions to a political party or legislative campaign committee except as provided under s. 11.1101 (1) to (5).

AB531,14 Section 14. Initial applicability.