On 6th Anniversary of Citizens United Ruling, Wisconsin Should Move Towards Real Reform

Posted: January 21, 2016
Updated: February 3, 2016

January 21, 2016

The state Senate approved and sent to the governor a bill on Wednesday that changes the longtime hiring process for 30,000 public sector jobs. The measure was backed by powerful business and conservative ideological groups that have spent millions of dollars since 2011 to help Republican lawmakers, who control the legislature, and GOP Gov. Scott Walker keep their jobs.

January 20, 2016

The largest source of money for Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s gubernatorial fundraising committee during the last half of 2015 was his short-lived presidential campaign.

January 19, 2016

Wealthy Democratic and Republican donors are lining up behind the three candidates in this spring’s “nonpartisan” Wisconsin Supreme Court race.

January 14, 2016

A Republican lawmaker is sponsoring a bill that would make it legal in Wisconsin for people to carry concealed weapons on school property.

January 13, 2016

On Tuesday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court granted the district attorneys of Dane, Iowa, and Milwaukee counties permission to join the John Doe II case.

January 13, 2016

More than a dozen powerful special interests are behind a Republican bill that would prohibit communities from banning takeout containers, plastic bags, and other containers and packaging, including coffee cup insulating sleeves.

January 13, 2016

The decision by the Public Records Board on Monday to rescind its revision of its policy on “transitory records” is a victory for open government in Wisconsin.

January 12, 2016

The state’s influential agriculture and restaurant industries are among the special interests backing a GOP bill that would reduce regulations on fish farms.

January 11, 2016

Some Assembly Democrats raised eyebrows last month when they supported a GOP legislative proposal to repeal Wisconsin’s 33-year-old moratorium on nuclear power plant construction. Banning new nuke plants has generally been a Democratic cause for decades.

January 8, 2016

Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who has received $3.5 million in outside electioneering support and campaign contributions from the National Rifle Association (NRA), is itching to challenge President Barack Obama’s plan to require more criminal background checks on firearms sales.

January 6, 2016

The state’s most powerful business group and the building industry are supporting a Republican bill that would allow landowners to destroy some Indian burial mounds in order to develop their property.

January 5, 2016

To the Members of the Public Records Board:

The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign urges you to reverse the decision you made at your August 24, 2015, meeting when you made exceptions for “transitory” records under Wisconsin's open records law.

January 5, 2016

Two powerful special interests that back Republican candidates for statewide office and governor at election time are split on a GOP bill that restricts the timing and frequency of local school district spending referendums.

December 30, 2015

Two Republican legislators in Wisconsin are sponsoring a bill that would prohibit towns or counties from issuing photo ID cards for their residents.

December 23, 2015

A Republican lawmaker is circulating a bill that would create an income tax deduction on up to $200,000 of a psychiatrist’s annual earnings.

December 22, 2015

In Kewaunee County, cows outnumber people thanks largely to factory farms. According to a recent study, one in three wells in the county failed to meet safety standards for drinking water.

December 21, 2015

The timber industry and an environmental group are at odds over GOP bills that could reduce public access and increase logging on forestland for which the owner gets a state tax break.

December 18, 2015

Your calls and emails worked!

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that the district attorneys of Dane, Iowa, and Milwaukee Counties have petitioned the Wisconsin State Supreme Court to join the John Doe II case investigating allegations that Gov. Scott Walker illegally coordinated with outside groups during the recalls.

December 16, 2015

Governor Walker signed Assembly Bill 388 into law today, replacing the independent Wisconsin Government Accountability Board with bipartisan elections and ethics enforcement commissions.

Before the Assembly Committee on State Affairs and Government Operations

December 16, 2015

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign Testimony before the Assembly Committee on State Affairs and Government Operations in opposition to creating the legislative office of inspector general (Assembly Bill 382).

December 15, 2015

The tourism industry and local governments are lining up against a Republican bill that would prohibit communities from regulating homeowners who rent out their houses.

December 14, 2015

The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council filed a complaint today against a state board, accusing it of violating the state’s open meetings law when it decided that state officials do not have to retain text messages and other so-called transitory records.

Posted:  December 14, 2015
Corrected:  December 16, 2015 to change one of the bill's sponsors from Rep. Ed Brooks to Rep. Robert Brooks

The powerful real estate industry is backing a GOP bill that would strengthen the rights of landlords in disputes with tenants, and for property owners who own historic properties.

December 9, 2015

John Menard, the founder and owner of the Menards hardware store chain, is the richest man in Wisconsin, reportedly worth around $9 billion. And he hasn’t been afraid to throw his money around in Wisconsin politics.