Press Release
June 27, 2013
CONTACT:
Jay Heck – 608/256-2686
Does Your State Representative/State Senator Support
Non-Partisan Redistricting Reform?
See If Your State Legislators Support Reform or the Corrupt Status Quo
Last month, the long-anticipated, bipartisan redistricting reform legislation modeled after Iowa's system was formally introduced as
Senate Bill 163 and
Assembly Bill 185.
This ought to be a top political reform priority for
all Wisconsin citizens. CC/WI will be closely tracking public support by legislators for this legislation. Below is the listing of all of the Wisconsin State Representatives and State Senators (in alphabetical order) who have expressed public support for SB 163/AB 185 to date - at the year's midpoint. The name of the legislator is followed by the Assembly or State Senate District they represent and the city/town in which the legislator resides:
If your State Representative and/or State Senator are on this list, drop them a line and thank them for their support and tell them it is a priority for you and for Wisconsin.
If your State Representative or/and your State Senator are not on the above list, please contact them and tell them to support Senate Bill 163/Assembly Bill 185!
If you are not sure who your State Representative and/or your State Senator are go here.
We will update this list every week. Please let us know what your legislators are telling you about this when you contact them about redistricting reform.
Citizens of Wisconsin: Political reform will happen because you make it happen! If you do nothing, then nothing will get done.
Note to Legislators: Call or e-mail us if you want to be listed as a public supporter of redistricting reform.
__________________________________________
Jay Heck, Executive Director
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686
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Press Release
June 12, 2013
CONTACT:
Jay Heck – 608/256-2686
Assembly Campaign Finance & Election Bill to Get Vote Wednesday
Electioneering Disclosure Measure (Senate Bill 166)
Should be Added to Make AB 225 Worthy of Citizen Support
On Monday, the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections voted 8 to 1 to pass a significantly-revised campaign finance and elections measure --
Assembly Bill 225 -- that Common Cause in Wisconsin had
vigorously opposed.
After a
televised exchange between the author of Assembly Bill 225, State Representative
Jeff Stone (R-Greendale) and
Jay Heck of CC/WI late last week, the legislation was revised and made less onerous -- and it was this
revised version that won bipartisan support. Some of the provisions that
CC/WI had pushed hard to have removed were taken out, but a new provision was added that doubles all political contributions to candidates for the Legislature and for statewide office and to the political parties -- and most alarmingly -- to the four legislative campaign committees controlled by the Speaker and Minority Leader in the Assembly and the State Senate Majority and Minority Leaders.
Doesn't anyone in the Capitol remember the 2001-2002
Wisconsin Legislative Caucus Scandal other than
Dee Hall, the
Wisconsin State Journal reporter who broke the scandal in May of 2001? This was the most serious political scandal in Wisconsin's history. We talked about it on Monday at the Executive Session for Assembly Bill 225.
The special interest money that flows to the legislative campaign committees that are controlled by the legislative leadership was one of the primary causes of that scandal 12 years ago. Doubling the amount of special interest money -- from the current $150,000 every two years to $300,000 -- that can flow to the legislative campaign committees as a result of this bill will only enhance the possibility of another campaign finance scandal -- such as the one that brought down Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen (R-Town of Brookfield), State Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala (D-Madison) Assembly Majority Leader Steve Foti (R-Oconomowoc), State Senate Co-Chair of the Joint Finance Committee Brian Burke (D-Milwaukee) and Assistant Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Ladwig (R-Mount Pleasant) in October 2002.
Doubling campaign contributions to candidates and to the political committees is not going to stop or even decrease the avalanche of undisclosed, secret money that flows to outside special interest front groups. If anything, that dark money will increase to combat the increased disclosed money that candidates will raise to combat them. To make the revised version of Assembly Bill 225 worthy of the support of the citizens the Legislature represents, the bill ought to be amended to add the electioneering disclosure measure introduced at the end of April by State Senators Mike Ellis (R-Neenah), Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) and State Representative Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah) that would, for the first time, shine light on the donors to the outside groups that increasingly dominate Wisconsin elections. The bipartisan measure -- Senate Bill 166 -- is sorely needed so that Wisconsin voters can know who all the players in our elections are and can see where the money is coming from that is trying to influence their vote.
For more on the Ellis-Erpenbach-Kaufert legislation, go here.
There was heavy media coverage of Monday's legislative action on the revised campaign finance and election bill in which CC/WI provided comment and analysis:
For television coverage, go here and here.
For radio coverage, go here, here, and here.
Newspaper articles include: Wisconsin State Journal, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Associated Press.
Revised Assembly Bill 225 is expected to pass fairly easily and with bipartisan support in the Assembly today. Then it is on to the State Senate where we will see if it can be improved.
__________________________________________
Jay Heck, Executive Director
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686
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Press Release
June 10, 2013
CONTACT:
Jay Heck – 608/256-2686
Campaign Finance & Election Bill Undergoes Big Changes
for Committee Vote Today: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
Vote on Revised Package Expected as Early as Wednesday in the Full Assembly
As we
reported to you on Friday, the fast-tracked, hyper-partisan package of mostly onerous campaign finance and election measures contained in newly introduced
Assembly Bill 225 just ten days ago would be undergoing major revisions before being voted on by the Assembly Campaign and Elections Committee today, and considered by the full Assembly this Wednesday.
Here is a rundown of major items that have been added and subtracted (as of now) to make AB 225 both better and worse:
OUT: One of our major concerns in the bill was the inclusion of what we call the "WMC (Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce) provision" that would have codified into law the ability of outside special interest groups to keep secret their donors if they ran widely-disseminated communications in the period prior to an election as long as they didn't use express advocacy -- which are the so-called "magic words" like "vote for" or "defeat" or "support" or "elect." Under current Wisconsin law, these groups do not report their donors when they run "phony issue ads" even now because Wisconsin has yet to pass a meaningful disclosure law. The "WMC provision" would have "clarified" and formalized this into law and made needed disclosure even
more elusive. Happily, it is now
out of the bill -- as is a provision formalizing the ending of a 107-year-old Wisconsin law banning corporate contributions in Wisconsin elections.
IN (New): The doubling of all contribution limits in Wisconsin elections, including the amount of special interest money the two major political parties and the four legislative campaign committees can accept from the current $150,000 to $300,000 every two years. The limit for statewide candidates is raised from the current $10,000 to $20,000 during the four-year election cycle; for candidates for the State Senate from the current $1,000 to $2,000 for the four year election cycle and for Assembly candidates from the current $500 to $1,000 for the two-year election cycle.
Obviously, this will mean more money in Wisconsin elections. And more special interest money. More money in our politics is not the direction we ought to be heading. But Republicans and Democrats alike argue that the contribution limits haven't been raised in decades and a dollar today buys far less than it did in 1983. Also, these contributions must be fully-disclosed. Still, this cannot be considered "reform" -- it is more gasoline on the fire of an ever-increasing amount of money in state politics.
What should be done in Wisconsin if we are going to go down this road is something that happened in the federal McCain-Feingold reform law more than a decade ago. Then, contribution limits for candidates for the U.S. Senate and House were more than doubled, but there was also major disclosure of outside special interest group donors put into the law and thus, more transparency in federal elections. Similarly in Wisconsin, the doubling of disclosed contribution limits for candidates for state office would be somewhat easier to swallow if the bipartisan electioneering disclosure legislation introduced earlier this year by State Senators Mike Ellis (R-Neenah), Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) and by State Representative Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah), Senate Bill 166 were added to this package. Without it, the additon of this "doubling" provision moves us backwards -- not forward -- regardless of a bipartisan agreement to do this.
OUT: A whole host of bad, restrictive provisions concerning the currently stalled-in-the-courts restrictive and extreme Wisconsin photo voter I.D. law and other limitations on the ability to vote. The provision that would have permitted a voter without one of the limited, proscribed forms of I.D. to cast a ballot if they signed a sworn statement that they are too poor to get that proscribed form of I.D. or that it is against their religion to do so, or that they are unable to get the I.D. is gone. We thought this "affidavit option" to be too restrictive and even humiliating. There are better ways to do this. Gone also is the provision ending weekend voting and establishing uniform polling place hours throughout the state -- regardless of the population of the county.
IN (New): On-line Voter Registration. At last, a measure designed to increase the numbers and make it easier for citizens to register to vote and expand participation in our elections instead of attempting to decrease voting. This is a welcome addition. It is also apparently one of the major "trade-offs" made between Republicans and Democrats in order to secure bipartisan agreement for this latest package. State Representatives Terese Berceau (D-Madison) and Fred Kessler (D-Milwaukee) are now "on board" and that would suggest many more Democrats are as well. So much-needed bi-partisanship may have been achieved.
OUT: Doubling the number of “candidates” to fill vacancies on the six-member Government Accountability Board (GAB) from which the Governor can choose – to find one more to his (or her) liking and who is more “partisan-friendly. The GAB is just fine as it is. Good move cutting this provision.
IN (Still): Extending the period of time when registered lobbyists can contribute to campaigns and allowing them to do so six weeks earlier in election years. We need this like we need a hole in the head.
Overall, the package is less onerous than it was last Friday. There is some bipartisanship -- which is good. Some of the most odious provisions of Assembly Bill 225 are out -- also good. But some remain in the bill and, of course, the doubling of campaign contributions is not "reform." The Ellis-Erpenbach-Kaufert electioneering disclosure measure should be added to this package.
Furthermore, there is always the strong possibility that an anti-disclosure measure and more restrictions on voting could resurface in other legislation. Or, by amendment when the Assembly considers this package on Wednesday. Or in the State Senate.
We still hate the process by which this entire package was brought forward. It should not be done when the state budget and other hot-button issues like abortion, tax cuts, voucher schools, jobs and other matters are vying for the attention of Wisconsin citizens and the media. There is no compelling reason to be doing this now. Campaign finance and election reform -- or "deform" (as the case may be) ought to be undertaken after the budget is completed and other issues are not competing with this one.
The stakes are too important.
But today the package will likely advance in the committee -- and be considered by the full Assembly on Wednesday. Of course anything could happen given the furtive and expedited manner in which this legislation has been handled. We will be watching.
Updated 6/10/2013 - 2:37 PM
__________________________________________
Jay Heck, Executive Director
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686
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Press Release
June 7, 2013
CONTACT:
Jay Heck – 608/256-2686
Republican Campaign Finance & Election Measure to Undergo
Big Changes Before Executive Session Next Week
Assembly Bill 225 Author - Rep. Jeff Stone Says Major Provisions Will Be Removed
during Wisconsin Eye Exchange with CC/WI Director Jay Heck
The fast-tracked, hyper-partisan campaign finance and elections measure which Common Cause in Wisconsin has vigorously opposed --
Assembly Bill 225 -- received a public hearing earlier this week, and the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections heard a
great deal of
opposition to the ill-conceived legislation.
Yesterday, the lead author of Assembly Bill 225, State Representative
Jeff Stone (R-Greendale), appeared with CC/WI director
Jay Heck for a spirited exchange of views about this legislation on
Wisconsin Eye's "Newsmakers" Program, hosted by moderator and long-time Capitol journalist
Steve Walters.
During the program, Heck pressed Stone on the revisions to the photo voter I.D. law and -- most pointedly -- on the campaign finance change which would codify into law secret money funding phony issue ads. This change was inserted in Assembly Bill 225 at the insistence of long-time Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce lobbyist
James Buchen.
Also discussed and debated were other provisions of the photo I.D. law, a measure to rein in recall elections in Wisconsin, a provision to expand the number of candidates the Governor can choose from to serve on the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, and other matters.
Stone said it was likely that Assembly Bill 225 would head to an executive session as early as next week and then be sent to the full Assembly for consideration. But he also said that it was very likely that the campaign finance provisions blocking disclosure of the donors of outside spending as well as photo voter I.D. provisions regarding affidavits and other parts of the law would be removed from the legislation. Stone also said that he would be working to bring Democratic input into the legislation to create a final bill that would have bipartisan support. Bipartisan support for the legislation is critical -- a point Heck hammered over and over during the exchange.
Whether or not Jeff Stone can deliver these changes and turn what is currently a hyper-partisan, terrible campaign finance and election package into something worthy of bipartisan support, and that can be supported by all Wisconsinites, remains to be seen. But if CC/WI can be of further assistance in improving Assembly Bill 225 and transforming it into legislation that will reduce special interest influence in our elections and protect the ability of all Wisconsinites who are eligible to vote to be able to cast a vote without being unfairly burdened and hindered from doing so, then we will continue to be willing to talk to anyone about it. We will continue to speak out in any event, because that's what we do.
We feel as if we made some progress and important inroads through our testimony and from this exchange into at least the beginning of a better outcome for the campaign finance and election reform battle that was waged this week. But we will see what next week brings.
You can watch the entire program with Stone, Heck and Walters here, and judge for yourself where this is all headed. Let us know what you think.
__________________________________________
Jay Heck, Executive Director
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686
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Press Release
June 5, 2013
CONTACT:
Jay Heck – 608/256-2686
Fast-Tracked Campaign Finance & Election Package
Is Even Worse Than We Thought
WMC-Inspired Provision Would Eviscerate Almost All Disclosure
of Outside Special Interest Groups
Yesterday in the State Capitol, the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections held its sole public hearing on legislation that first surfaced only last week and was introduced just this past Friday.
Assembly Bill 225 is a big chunk of public policy -- almost all of it bad.
The campaign finance part of the bill ought to be split from the election and voting components of the bill and considered separately -- and only after all of it has been public for a good long while and the Citizens of Wisconsin have had an opportunity to see and understand it. The consequences of enacting this package into law would be severely detrimental for Wisconsinites for years to come. It ought to be stopped and considered carefully in the sunshine. There is certainly plenty of time. The next elections in Wisconsin are not for nearly a year.
Instead, the entire bill is being rushed through the Assembly while state budget consideration is dominating the attention of the media and most Wisconsinites. While the author of the legislation, State Rep.
Jeff Stone (R-Greendale) and the Assembly Speaker,
Robin Vos (R-Rochester) both said yesterday that they were still seeking "input" on the bill, it is clear that they have the hyper-partisan package that they want and will ram it through the Assembly before the end of June. Vos' appearance at the committee hearing is an indication of the high partisan priority that he places on flooding Wisconsin elections with more special interest money, making that money far less transparent, and in making it more difficult for tens of thousands of Wisconsinites to vote.
There were several hours of testimony -- primarily on election issues and the photo voter I.D. law. But the most alarming testimony of the day came from James Buchen, the long-time government relations director for Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC), the state's largest business lobbying organization and a long-time fierce opponent of transparency, spending limits, and reducing special interest money in campaigns and public-policy-making. Buchen clearly has had a huge influence in the writing of the campaign finance component of AB 225. Buchen all but admitted to being the originator of the section of the bill that would "protect" from disclosure the donors to phony issue ads -- which are campaign communications masquerading as issue advocacy. These communications clearly are designed to influence the outcome of state elections, but because they do not use express advocacy -- which are what are known as "magic words" such as "vote for" or "defeat" or "elect" or "support" -- they are not currently subject to disclosure requirements.
Assembly Bill 225 and Buchen would take Wisconsin in exactly the opposite direction that the rest of the nation is headed in the wake of the Citizens United vs. F.E.C. decision. The "Buchen provision" in Assembly Bill 225 would codify into Wisconsin law protection from disclosure of phony issue ads. It does not take a genius to see that that is where all outside groups would head in order to influence elections and escape disclosure.
The end result would be that Wisconsinites will have no idea who is behind almost all of the money from outside special interest groups seeking to influence their vote in elections in Wisconsin. The money could come from anywhere inside or outside of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin voters would not know it's origin.
No other state is headed in this direction.
All other states are headed toward more disclosure of outside money. Eight of Nine U.S. Supreme Court Justices in Citizens United urged Congress and the States to enact stronger disclosure laws. AB 225 would cause less disclosure and make it much more difficult to know who is funding elections in Wisconsin.
There are many other reasons why Assembly Bill 225 should be scrapped, and we have listed other objections to the measure previously. But the secret money "Buchen" provision in this legislation should make all Wisconsinites very afraid. It would codify into Wisconsin law the spending of more secret outside money to influence our state's elections.
You can view CC/WI Director Jay Heck's testimony against this legislation here. You can view the entire public hearing from Wisconsin Eye (including the testimony of James Buchen) here. To read a powerful editorial opposing AB 225, go here.
Stay tuned.
__________________________________________
Jay Heck, Executive Director
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686
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Press Release
June 3, 2013
CONTACT:
Jay Heck – 608/256-2686
Hyper-Partisan, Deeply Flawed
Campaign Finance & Election Bill on Fast Track
Public Hearing Tuesday -- Floor Action Thursday
A highly-partisan campaign finance and election measure that would make campaign spending less transparent, expand lobbyist campaign contributions, and continue to burden Wisconsin voters with the most restrictive and extreme voting law in the nation -- was introduced just this past Friday -- May 31st. A
public hearing notice was posted just this morning for a single public hearing in the Capitol in Madison (at 10 AM Tuesday in Room 417 - North) for this terrible public policy. It will then be quickly passed along partisan lines, and scheduled by the Republican Assembly leadership for a vote in the Assembly on Thursday.
Sound familiar?
This is how you ram through hyper-partisan, controversial legislation that you are not particularly proud of and do not want the opposition to it to have time to coalesce against. You suddenly spring it on the public -- and then ram it through before citizens even know what hit them. This is divisive, power politics at its worst and one of the reasons citizens increasingly distrust public officials.
As we said
last week, this measure --
Assembly Bill 225 -- ought to be scrapped. Instead, Rep.
Jeff Stone (R-Greendale), the bill's main sponsor, ought to start over and work with reform-minded legislators on both sides of the partisan divide and craft a
bipartisan package that could really fix Wisconsin's many campaign finance and election problems instead of making them worse. Together, they should craft
bipartisan reform that doesn't provide political advantage for one political party over another and that instead, benefits all of the citizens of Wisconsin. Only
bipartisan campaign finance and election reform is effective and long-lasting.
To refresh your memory, there are many things wrong with this legislation. Here are some of the most prominent flaws.
Common Cause in Wisconsin opposes this measure and we have been outspoken in telling voters what is wrong with it.
And we have a much better, positive and bipartisan political reform alternative that legislators of both parties should embrace and pass -- Senate Bill 166. CC/WI's director, Jay Heck, had this opinion-editorial published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Sunday which provides details.
We will be at the public hearing tomorrow in Madison to testify in opposition to Assembly Bill 225. You need to let both your State Representative and your State Senator that you oppose Assembly Bill 225 as well. To contact your legislators, go here. If you are not sure who your legislators are, go here.
__________________________________________
Jay Heck, Executive Director
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686
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See If Your State Legislators Support Reform or the Corrupt Status Quo
