This bill makes numerous changes in the campaign finance law affecting
campaigns for the office of justice of the supreme court. The bill limits the application
of the Wisconsin election campaign fund, under which eligible candidates for certain
state offices (including justice of the supreme court) may receive public grants from
state general purpose revenues derived from designations made by individuals filing
state income tax returns, to state offices other than the office of justice. To finance
elections for the office of justice of the supreme court, the bill creates a democracy
trust fund, under which eligible candidates for this office may receive public grants
derived from general purpose revenues.

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Under the bill, a candidate for the office of justice of the supreme court may
qualify for public financing from the democracy trust fund to finance a campaign in
a primary or election by receiving qualifying contributions of at least $5 but not more
than $100 each made by an elector of this state in an aggregate amount of at least
$5,000 but not more than $15,000. A candidate who accepts public financing may
also accept "seed money" contributions in amounts of $100 or less, subject to
aggregate limitations, and may contribute personal funds in specified amounts
during specified periods. In order to qualify for a public financing benefit for the
primary, a candidate at the primary must have an opponent who qualifies to have
his or her name appear on the ballot at the spring primary, and in order to qualify
for a public financing benefit for the spring election, a candidate at the election must
have an opponent who qualifies to have his or her name appear on the ballot at the
election. A candidate who accepts a public financing benefit may not accept any
contributions other than qualifying and seed money contributions and contributions
from personal funds within the limitations permitted. Public financing benefits for
eligible candidates are $100,000 in the spring primary and $300,000 in the spring
election. The benefits are subject to a biennial cost of living adjustment. A candidate
who accepts more than a specified amount of qualifying or seed money contributions
has the excess deducted from his or her public financing benefit. In addition, if a
candidate's opponent declines to accept a public financing benefit and makes
expenditures in a total amount that exceeds by more than 5 percent the amount
permitted for a candidate who accepts a public financing benefit, the candidate who
accepts a public financing benefit receives additional funding equivalent to the
excess expenditures made by his or her opponent, but not more than three times the
amount of the public financing benefit for the office that the candidate seeks. A
candidate also receives additional public financing equivalent to any independent
expenditures made against the candidate or in support of his or her opponents if
those expenditures exceed 20 percent of the amount of the public financing benefit
for the office that the candidate seeks (but not more than three times the amount of
that benefit).

The bill provides that if a candidate makes disbursements that exceed the total
amount of the public financing benefit allocated to the candidate and the total
qualifying and seed money contributions lawfully accepted by the candidate, the
candidate is subject to a forfeiture (civil penalty) of not more than ten times the
amount by which his or her disbursements exceed the allocation. In addition, the bill
provides that a candidate who accepts contributions in excess of any limitation
imposed under the bill is subject to a forfeiture of not more than ten times the amount
by which the contributions exceed the applicable limitation. The bill also provides
that if any 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 may be fined not more than $25,000 or imprisoned for not more than ten years,
or both. Under the bill, any person who, in connection with the receipt or
disbursement of a public financing benefit, knowingly provides false information to

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the Government Accountability Board, or knowingly conceals or withholds
information from the board, is subject to the same penalty.

Currently, a candidate for the office of justice of the supreme court may qualify
to receive a grant from the Wisconsin election campaign fund for use in an election
campaign only (no funding is provided for primary campaigns). In order to qualify
for a grant, a candidate must qualify to have his or her name appear on the spring
election ballot and must have an opponent who qualifies to have his or her name
appear on that ballot. The maximum amount of a grant that a candidate may receive
is $97,031. This amount is not subject to any cost of living adjustment. In addition,
this amount is reduced by the total amount of contributions received by a candidate
from special interest committees and this amount may not be fully funded in a
particular year if there are not sufficient moneys in the Wisconsin election campaign
fund to provide full financing for all qualifying candidates. A candidate must agree
to abide by spending and self-contribution limits in order to receive a grant, but this
agreement does not apply if the candidate has an opponent who could have qualified
for a grant but declines to do so and declines to file an affidavit of voluntary
compliance with spending and self-contribution limits.

Currently, individuals and committees making political contributions to
candidates for the office of justice of the supreme court are subject to limitations on
the amount or value of any contribution or contributions that may be made
cumulatively to any candidate in a campaign. The limitations are $10,000 in the case
of an individual making a contribution to a candidate and $8,625 in the case of a
committee making a contribution to a candidate. This bill replaces these limitations
with a contribution limitation of $1,000 applicable to an individual or committee
making any contribution or contributions cumulatively during a campaign period to
any candidate for the office of justice of the supreme court who is eligible to qualify
for a public financing benefit but who declines to accept one.

Under current law, the Wisconsin election campaign fund is financed through
an individual income tax "checkoff." Every individual filing a state income tax return
who has a tax liability or is entitled to a tax refund may direct that $1 of general
purpose revenue be transferred to the fund. Individuals filing a joint return may
separately choose whether to direct that the $1 transfer be made. The designation
does not increase an individual's tax liability nor reduce an individual's refund. This
bill increases the amount of the individual income tax checkoff for the Wisconsin
election campaign fund from $1 to $3, effective for tax returns filed for taxable years
beginning on or after January 1 following the day on which the bill becomes law.
Under the bill, individuals filing a joint return may separately choose whether to
make the $3 checkoff. Under the bill, $2 of each $3 designation is deposited into the
democracy trust fund, and the remaining $1 is deposited into the Wisconsin election
campaign fund, as currently provided. If the total designations do not generate
sufficient general purpose revenues to fully fund the costs of public grants and
administration of the democracy trust fund, the bill appropriates additional general
purpose revenues to finance those costs.