An audit of how the Government Accountability Board (GAB) handles complaints has determined there are no significant problems with the current process used by the agency.

The report by the Legislative Audit Bureau suggested two minor changes concerning timely resolution of complaints and keeping the board provided with the names of at least three people eligible to be hired as special investigators.

GAB Director Kevin Kennedy said, “It puts to rest any questions as to whether the six board members exercise independent judgment when they make decisions about complaints, investigations and penalties.”

Gov. Scott Walker and state Republican leadership are expected to continue to push for an overhaul of the agency.

Legislation banning paid lobbyists from serving on boards, commissions, or committees was introduced in Common Council on July 7.

Currently, legislative committees are comprised of alders and appointed city residents. As appointed members are chosen based on expertise, lobbyists who are appointed often have potential conflicts of interest between their committee duties and their activities for paying clients.

By banning paid lobbyists, the sponsors hope to remove possible undue influence and ensure good government practices.

Gov. Scott Walker has set a special election date for the 99^th Assembly District seat. Rep. Chris Kapenga vacated the seat after his election to the state Senate in July.

The special election will be held September 29. If a primary is required, it will be held September 1.

Gov. Scott Walker announced he wants to dismantle the Government Accountability Board (GAB) and replace the independent board overseeing ethics laws with a new entity. The announcement came just days after a state Supreme Court ruling ended the John Doe investigation into alleged violations by the governor’s campaign during the 2012 recall election.

GAB had approved both the investigation and the recall election to which the alleged violations were related.

GAB Director and General Counsel Kevin Kennedy released a statement in support of the board noting it has been a model for other states on how to handle lobbying, ethics, and election laws.

Photo of Gov. Scott Walker by Gage Skidmore on Wikimedia Commons.

Today, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled campaign finance regulations for coordinated expenditures are limited only to expenditures made for “express advocacy and its functional equivalent.” Express advocacy is a communication expressly advocating for the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate.

In Wisconsin v. Peterson, the court held the state’s legal definition of political purposes, upon which the campaign finance regulations rely, is unconstitutionally overbroad. Instead of invalidating the entire statute, the court narrowed the definition to expenditures for express advocacy and its functional equivalent, thereby rejecting the argument that in cases where there is not express advocacy the “coordinated expenditures constitute disguised contributions to the candidate or candidate’s campaign committee.”

Madison Ald. David Ahrens will soon propose an ordinance to ban registered lobbyists from serving on city committees. The proposal is expected to be introduced on July 7 as a means of eliminating both the appearance and reality of conflicts of interest.

The ordinance would not only prohibit registered lobbyists from serving on city committees, but would also force those who are not lobbyists when appointed and who register later to vacate their seats.

Although the city currently requires lobbyist registration and disclosure, Ahrens argues the current law isn’t enforced.

Gov. Scott Walker has called a special election for July 21, 2015, to fill the Senate District 33 seat of Paul Farrow (R), who plans to resign on July 17.

Farrow is resigning to focus on his new position as county executive of Waukesha County.

Rep. Chris Kapenga (R) and Brian Dorow, an associate dean at Waukesha County Technical College, have announced plans to run in the Republican primary on June 23.

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to hear a case alleging the state’s 2011 voter ID law is unconstitutional.

Following the decision, the Government Accountability Board consulted with the Wisconsin Department of Justice and determined photo ID will not be required for the April 7 Spring Election.

Photo ID will be required for subsequent elections, including any special elections in 2015.

While lawmakers meet in an extraordinary session to quickly pass a right-to-work bill, union leaders are sponsoring an opposition rally at the state Capitol. Senate Bill 44 will be debated in the Committee on Labor, with a Senate floor vote expected on Wednesday, February 24.

The Assembly is expected to take action on Assembly Bill 61 after the Senate passes its version of the bill. The AFL-CIO held a press conference urging members to tell their senators to vote against the bill.

Gov. Scott Walker has indicated he will sign the bill if passed.

Photo of the interior of the Wisconsin State Capitol by Dori on Wikimedia Commons.

U.S. District Court Judge Charles Clevert ruled several portions of Wisconsin’s campaign finance laws unconstitutional. The court permanently enjoined the state from enforcing campaign finance laws against groups discussing candidates. Those laws, however, continue to be enforceable against express advocacy.

The court also struck down attribution and disclaimer requirements as applied to radio speech 30 seconds or shorter and enjoined enforcement of limits on what organizations could spend to solicit contributions to their own political committees.

U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa ordered Wisconsin officials to stop enforcing the state law prohibiting certain coordination between candidate campaigns and independent groups. Randa’s order came in a lawsuit filed by Citizens for Responsible Government Advocates against the state Government Accountability Board and Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm.

Randa ruled the state cannot regulate groups coordinating with candidates, so long as the groups engage in issue advocacy. Groups engaging in issue advocacy generally make efforts to favor or criticize a candidate without explicitly urging a vote for or against the candidate.

The case will likely be appealed considering Randa’s prior related decision to halt a John Doe investigation against the campaign of Gov. Scott Walker was overturned by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

A federal judge entered a preliminary injunction in favor of a conservative group challenging the state’s limits on the amount candidates can collect from political action committees. The group argued the limits infringed upon its First Amendment free speech rights.

The judge agreed and issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Government Accountability Board from enforcing the limit.

Democrat Mary Burke will face Republican Gov. Scott Walker in the November general election.

Burke, a former Trek Bicycle executive and state commerce secretary, is the first woman to be nominated by a major party for governor in Wisconsin.

A recent Marquette University Law School poll found women support Burke by a 48 to 41 percent margin, while men support Walker 52 to 42 percent.

A federal lawsuit has been filed to challenge the state law limiting campaign contributions to candidates from political action committees (PACs).

The CRG Network (CRG), a PAC working to elect conservative candidates, filed the lawsuit in the Milwaukee U.S. District Court against the state Government Accountability Board. CRG argues its rights to free speech and free association have been denied because of PAC contribution limits.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the law in 1990, but subsequent U.S. Supreme Court rulings may make the earlier state Supreme Court case irrelevant.