This bill authorizes each individual filing a state income tax return who has a
tax liability or is owed a refund to designate that $1 of general purpose revenue be
transferred to an election campaign fund administered by the Government
Accountability Board (GAB) and the state treasurer. Under the bill, any candidate
for a partisan state office, except district attorney, who receives at least 6 percent of

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the total vote cast on all ballots for the office the candidate seeks at the partisan
primary and whose name is certified as a candidate in the general election is eligible
to receive a grant from the fund to finance campaign expenses. The bill places the
names of independent candidates on the partisan primary ballot in order to permit
these candidates to qualify to receive grants. However, as under current law, a voter
who votes for a party candidate for any office is not permitted to vote for any
candidates not representing that party, including independent candidates. The
independent candidates continue to appear on the general election ballot regardless
of the number of votes they receive at the primary. A candidate for state
superintendent of public instruction or justice of the supreme court who is nominated
at the primary may also qualify to receive grants. In addition, a candidate for a state
office at a special partisan election may qualify to receive a grant if he or she
represents a party whose candidate for the same office at the most recent general
election received at least 6 percent of the total vote cast for the office or if he or she
actually receives at least 6 percent of the total vote cast for the office at the special
election. A candidate whose name appears on the ballot at a special election for the
office of state superintendent may also qualify.

The moneys in the fund are apportioned as follows: 1) in those years in which
there is an election for supreme court justice, candidates for that office may receive
8 percent of the money in the fund which is divided equally among them; 2) in those
years in which there is an election for state superintendent, candidates for that office
may receive 8 percent of the money in the fund which is divided equally between
them; 3) the remainder is apportioned among the candidates for partisan state
executive offices, who may receive 25 percent of the remaining money in the fund,
and candidates for legislative office, who may receive 75 of the remaining money in
the fund. The fund is further apportioned among candidates for the executive offices
according to a specified formula. All eligible candidates for the same office may
receive equal grants. If a candidate for an office does not accept a grant, the amount
for which the candidate could have qualified is potentially payable to any opposing
candidates for the same office who accept grants. To complete his or her
qualification, a candidate must receive contributions of money from individuals
during a specified period in amounts of $100 or less cumulatively from each
individual. For a candidate for a statewide office or any candidate at a special
election, the contributions must equal at least 5 percent of the candidate's statutory
disbursement (expenditure) level. For other candidates, the contributions must
equal at least 10 percent of the candidate's statutory disbursement level. A
candidate for an office who accepts a grant must agree to abide by the statutory
disbursement level unless the candidate is opposed by a candidate whose name
appears on the ballot and who receives at least 6 percent of the total vote for the same
office at the primary if a primary was held and that candidate does not accept a grant
or does not abide by the statutory disbursement level. As under current law, a
candidate who does not accept a grant is not bound by any disbursement level, but
such a candidate may voluntarily agree to abide by the disbursement level by filing
an affidavit with GAB affirming that intention.

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Under the bill, grants are paid directly to each eligible candidate. Grants may
be used only for office supplies or postage, or for the purchase of services from
printers, graphic arts or advertising providers, or communications media. A
candidate must return any unspent and unencumbered grant moneys to the state.

Under current law, no candidate for state office may receive more than 45
percent of his or her statutory disbursement level from committees other than
political party committees. The bill treats grant moneys as committee contributions,
thus reducing the amount of nonparty committee contributions that a candidate who
accepts a grant may receive. The maximum amount that a candidate may receive
is that amount, when added to all other nonparty committee contributions received
by the candidate, equal to 45 percent of the candidate's disbursement level. If there
is insufficient money within any account in the fund to make full payment of the
grants to which all eligible candidates are entitled at any election, GAB is directed
to proportionally reduce grant payments.

The bill transfers $1,128,600 from the general fund to the Wisconsin election
campaign fund, which is approximately equivalent to the amount that was
transferred from the campaign fund to the general fund in 2011 when the campaign
fund existed under former law. Under the bill, initial grants are payable at the first
election that follows the day the bill becomes law by at least 60 days, but the initial
transfer of moneys from income tax designations is made on August 15 following the
calendar or taxable year in which the first designations are made.