Wisconsin Overhauls Campaign Finance and Eliminates GAB

by Katlin Newman, Research Associate

On December 16, 2015, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed two bills eliminating the Government Accountability Board (GAB) and overhauling state campaign finance laws.

Effective July 1, 2016, Assembly Bill 388 replaces GAB with an elections commission, to administer and supervise elections, as well as an ethics commission, to administer and enforce ethics, campaign finance, and lobbying regulations. Currently, GAB’s six board members are former judges appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. Under the new legislation, members for the ethics and elections commissions will be appointed on a partisan basis by majority and minority leaders in the Senate, the speaker of the Assembly, and the minority leader of the Assembly, with the final two members in each commission selected by gubernatorial nomination with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Assembly Bill 387, effective January 1, 2016, requires all political committees and conduits to register with GAB or a local filing officer prior to accepting any contributions, making any disbursements, or incurring any obligations. While this appears to lower the registration threshold, there will likely be fewer committees required to register based on new committee definitions. For example, the bill defines an independent expenditure committee as having the major purpose of making expenditures for express advocacy. A political action committee is defined as an entity with express advocacy as its major purpose. Express advocacy refers to communication containing specific terms referencing a clearly identified candidate and unambiguously relating to the candidate’s campaign. Thus, if a communication does not contain terms such as “vote for,” “vote against,” “elect,” or “defeat” in combination with a clearly identified candidate, the group may not need to register or report. Assembly Bill 387 also changes committee reporting dates and reporting periods.

The new law doubles state contribution limits and changes the calculation used to determine contribution limits for local candidates. Corporations and labor organizations can now contribute up to $12,000 per calendar year to a segregated fund established and administered by a political party or legislative campaign committee for purposes other than making contributions to a candidate committee or making disbursements for express advocacy.

Summary of Changes UPDATE
Note Recent Changes to Compliance Regulations 

Michael Beckett, Esq., Research Manager

CALIFORNIA: Pursuant to the amendment of regulation 2 C.C.R. §18422, a federal political committee required to register in California because it is making expenditures on California candidates or measures must report as specified in code section 84222(d). Such committees are required to send major donor notices and expedited nonprofit filer notices. A federal political committee must determine to whom to send notices by referring to the most recent donors identified on its federal reports prior to the date of its expenditure in California. A multipurpose organization required to register as a committee under code section 84222(c)(2), (3), or (4) must also send major donor notices and expedited nonprofit filer notices.

CANADA: The updated Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct, which had not been revised since 1997, became effective on December 1, 2015. The new code prohibits lobbyists from lobbying a public official if the lobbyist has campaigned for or has a business interest with the public official. Lobbyists will now be held responsible for giving prohibited gifts to public officials. The revised rules are aimed at increasing transparency and public trust in officeholders.

FEDERAL: Among the riders in the federal 2016 Omnibus Appropriations bill passed into law on December 18, 2015, were two provisions affecting campaign finance. Congress explicitly prohibited the Internal Revenue Service from making new rules concerning the political speech or activity of 501(c)(4) organizations. The legislation also prohibits the Securities and Exchange Commission from issuing regulations requiring corporations to disclose their political activity to their shareholders. Senate Bill 1910, the Senate's version of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2016, contained language altering the law regarding coordination between candidates and political parties. However, opposition from both parties prevented this rider making it in the final passed bill. The final bill also did not include a rider from House Resolution 2995, the House’s version of the bill, which would have barred the use of funds to recommend or require any entity submitting an offer for a federal contract to disclose specified political contributions as a condition of submitting the offer.

NEW YORK: The Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) has released additional information for the state’s amnesty program to go into effect on January 1, 2016. Registered lobbyists and established clients of lobbyists are not eligible for the program, as it only applies to those who have not submitted any filings between December 10, 2006, and the date amnesty is applied for. Additionally, applicants must never have been contacted by JCOPE for noncompliance or been the subject of a criminal proceeding for a Lobbying Act violation. The program will run through June 30, 2016.

OREGON: Electronic registration and reporting is available now and is mandatory beginning January 1, 2016.  Registration for the 2016-2017 period can be completed electronically starting on December 15, 2015. The first report required to be filed using the electronic system is the 2016 first quarterly report.

WITCHITA KANSAS: City Council unanimously approved a measure removing the prohibition on corporations, unions, and PACs donating to local campaigns. Such groups will be limited to contributions of $500 per election, matching the limit on individual contributions and mirroring the state's restrictions. Proponents of the change believe with the limit so low, the risk of corporations or PACs swaying an election is minimal.

Legislation We Are Tracking

At any given time, more than 1,000 legislative bills, which can affect how you do business as a government affairs professional, are being discussed in federal, state, and local jurisdictions. These bills are summarized in State and Federal Communications' digital encyclopedias for lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying and can be found in the client portion of our website.

Summaries of major bills are also included in monthly email updates sent to all clients. The chart below shows the number of bills we are tracking in regard to lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying.

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Every year, State and Federal Communications hosts a holiday charitable service project called Stock the Sleigh. This year, chaired by Katlin Newman, Sarah Gray, and Joe May, the staff gathered gifts [from a suggested list] for the patients at Akron Children’s Hospital.	During the 2015 COGEL Conference in Boston, MA, Megan Huber-Kovachik and Katlin Newman signed up to walk a Canine Copley Ambassador, Carly Cople, a rescue dog, adopted by the Fairmont Copley Plaza.
The Association of Government Relations Professionals awarded their AGRP Lobbying Certificates to three State and Federal Communications, Inc. staff members after completing 11 courses via webinar.  They included: George Ticoras, Esq., Research Associate; John Cozine, Esq., Compliance Manager; and Michael Beckett, Esq., Research Manager.	The 17th Issue of the State and Federal Communications, Inc. Executive Source Guidebook has been printed and is ready to go out to all of our clients and subscribers. This value added resource filled with information on Lobbying Laws, Political Contributions, and Procurement Lobbying should be used in tandem with our website.  They are not sold separately.
State and Federal Communications, Inc. Celebrates Staff Anniversaries In December, we celebrated the first anniversary of Dan Frydl, Marketing and Sales Manager and the seventh anniversary of James Warner, Esq., Sr. Compliance Associate. They are both assets to the State and Federal Communications team.

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