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Posted: October 27, 2015
Updated: November 18, 2015
Here’s some Wisconsin media coverage and commentary about legislative proposals to rewrite state campaign finance laws that blindfold the public about the fundraising and spending by special interest electioneering groups and candidates for legislative and statewide offices:
October 26, 2015
A Republican lawmaker says his bill to cut nearly six dozen state tax auditors is a business friendly move, and the state’s most powerful business group supports the measure.
October 22, 2015
Wealthy business and conservative ideological groups that collectively spend millions of dollars to support Republican legislative and statewide candidates at election time are supporting bills to weaken state campaign finance law and dismember the state’s election and ethics watchdog.
Posted: October 21, 2015
Updated: October 23, 2015
Dear Fellow Wisconsinites,
Today is a crucial day for democracy and clean government in Wisconsin.
October 21, 2015
Shame on Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin!
October 21, 2015
A Republican lawmaker who co-signed a letter asking the attorney general to investigate the state’s campaign finance and elections watchdog for open meetings violations cost the state $15,000 in damages and lawyer’s fees in an open records case.
October 20, 2015
Dear Friend,
I URGE YOU to take a moment and drop what you're doing and send your legislators a message that you won’t sit idly by and let Scott Walker and Speaker Vos strangle good government in Wisconsin.
October 20, 2015
(Letter of support to the Government Accountability Board under attack by GOP legislators.)
October 19, 2015
Health insurers, hospitals and doctors are supporting bipartisan bills to give GOP lawmakers final say over changes to the state employee group health and life insurance programs.
October 16, 2015
Statement by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign condemning a legislative committee’s action Thursday to further weaken campaign finance regulation and disclosure by scrapping a longstanding requirement in state law that candidates identify the employer of contributors who give them more than $100 in a calendar year:
October 16, 2015
A Republican bill that allows candidates to coordinate their election activities with secretive dark money groups that don’t have to disclose their fundraising or spending was rewritten to hide even more information about the influence that wealthy special interests have on Wisconsin elections.
October 15, 2015
One of the nation’s largest natural gas and electric utilities and the state’s plumbers unions are backing a bill that would effectively repeal Wisconsin’s 32-year-old ban on nuclear power plant construction.
October 14, 2015
Wisconsin’s public universities and technical colleges would no longer be able to prohibit people from carrying concealed guns in campus classrooms and buildings under a measure authored by two GOP lawmakers and backed by some pro-gun advocates.
October 13, 2015
The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign is a nonpartisan political watchdog that tracks money in state politics and believes that every citizen’s voice should be heard and every citizen’s vote should be counted. We strongly encourage committee members OPPOSE the two major de-form bills before you today.
October 12, 2015
October 10, 2015
A philanthropist, an energy transmission company, and an outside electioneering group were among the top Wisconsin donors during the first half of 2015 to some dark money groups that can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to attack state and federal candidates.
Posted: October 8, 2015
Updated: April 19, 2016
Republican lawmakers introduced a bill draft (AB 387) Wednesday that allows candidates and secretive dark money special interest groups to coordinate their fundraising and spending activities during an election.
October 8, 2015
October 7, 2015
Madison – The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign blasted the bill the Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature just introduced to do away with the Government Accountability Board, the state’s ethics and elections watchdog.
October 7, 2015
About 30 dark money groups that can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to influence state and federal elections received a total of $1.2 million from Wisconsin contributors during the first half of 2015, and about two-thirds of it went to groups that support Democrats.
September 30, 2015
A legislative proposal aimed at requiring a corporate-funded lobbying group and special interest bill mill to be more transparent about its workings and relationships with Wisconsin GOP lawmakers is making the rounds at the State Capitol.
September 29, 2015
Two Republican lawmakers are working on a proposal to create a tax break for owners and operators of jukeboxes.
September 28, 2015
Two Fox Valley Republican legislators are authoring a bill to overhaul the state’s civil service system that covers about 30,000 state employees.
September 24, 2015
The Natural Resources Board has decided to delay a decision on whether to sell several hundred feet of premium frontage on a northern Wisconsin lake to an Illinois couple that has contributed about $3 million to Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s campaigns for governor and president.
September 23, 2015
A GOP proposal to repeal Wisconsin’s minimum markup law has popped up at the State Capitol after complaints were filed with the state that accused Meijer Inc., a Michigan-based grocery store chain whose owners and executives are major Republican donors, of violating the law.