December 22, 2017
(WDC testimony delivered by WDC Executive Director Matthew Rothschild before the Wisconsin Elections Commission on GOP Attacks on Elections, Ethics Commission Administrators.)
December 20, 2017
Here’s a look at the fundraising and contributors to the Democratic and Republican candidates who won primaries on Tuesday in three special elections for vacant legislative seats. Candidates in two of the races – the 10th Senate District and the 58th Assembly District – will face off in a Jan. 16 election.
December 14, 2017
Seven candidates in two special elections for vacant Assembly and Senate seats have loaned or contributed about $272,715 of their own money to their campaigns (see table below), according to recent campaign finance reports filed with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission.
Posted: December 13, 2017
Updated: January 10, 2018
Six months ago, a group of bipartisan legislators sponsored two bills that would close a loophole that big box stores and other companies use to lower their tax assessments.
December 12, 2017
Republican Gov. Scott Walker signed a controversial bill into law on Monday that ends the state’s sulfide mining moratorium at the behest of powerful business and rightwing ideological interests that have spent more than $14 million to help elect him.
December 11, 2017
Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel is siding with the construction industry, which has donated nearly $170,000 to his campaign, saying the state can’t require sprinkler systems to fight fires in apartment buildings with 20 units or fewer.
December 5, 2017
Gov. Scott Walker’s administration plans to give up to $21 million in tax giveaways to Kwik Trip, a convenience store chain whose owners and employees have contributed more than $90,000 to the Republican governor.
December 5, 2017
(Delivered by Wisconsin Democracy Campaign Executive Director Matthew Rothschild.)
December 4, 2017
Republican lawmakers are introducing a bill that would slash the amount of time that people have to file civil suits against businesses for injuries and other matters.
November 30, 2017
Business, manufacturing, paper and oil interests are backing a GOP bill that would repeal nearly 300 state regulations on air pollutants that are regulated by federal law.
November 29, 2017
GOP bills backed by a Koch brothers group, which loosen education requirements for barbers, cosmetologists, manicurists and others, were signed into law by Republican Gov. Scott Walker on Monday.
November 28, 2017
A GOP legislative plan that would make it easier for people to sell substandard lots and generally use their land for things that it was not zoned for was signed into law by Republican Gov. Scott Walker.
November 21, 2017
A conservative candidate for an open Wisconsin Supreme Court seat in next spring’s elections hired two former executives with the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity as campaign advisors.
November 16, 2017
Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel spent last weekend rubbing elbows with big campaign donors at a Florida event that was sponsored by an electioneering group that funneled $300,000 into Wisconsin during the 2014 elections.
November 15, 2017
A Republican legislative proposal would exempt rent-to-own stores from the state consumer protection laws, and help the controversial industry grow in Wisconsin, according to the bill’s authors.
November 14, 2017
Republican Gov. Scott Walker has prohibited the state from doing business with anyone who participates in a boycott against Israel, a move guaranteed to please a Las Vegas casino billionaire who has contributed more than $900,000 to Walker and the state GOP.
November 10, 2017
Republican Gov. Scott Walker on Friday appointed a longtime western Wisconsin Republican state senator as the state’s new agriculture secretary.
November 9, 2017
U.S. billionaires identified in recent media accounts for concealing millions of dollars to avoid taxes have contributed nearly $400,000 to GOP legislative and statewide candidates in Wisconsin.
November 7, 2017*
Utilities and power cooperatives are behind bills under consideration Tuesday by the legislature that would allow them to destroy 9,999 square feet of wetlands.
November 6, 2017
Republican Gov. Scott Walker kicked off his bid for a third four-year term as governor among some generous GOP campaign contributors.
November 6, 2017
The state Senate is scheduled to vote Tuesday on two measures pushing for a constitutional convention sought by business and rightwing ideological interests to add a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
November 3, 2017
A GOP bill to sharply restrict abortion coverage for state employees was approved Thursday by the Assembly on a party line vote and sent to the Senate.
November 3, 2017
Backed by powerful business and rightwing ideological interests, the state Assembly approved a bill Thursday to end Wisconsin’s ban on mining gold, silver, copper and other precious metals, despite longtime concerns about water pollution.
by Matthew Rothschild, Executive Director
October 31, 2017
When Scott Walker announced his reelection campaign team today, it was like an invitation to a reunion for some of the players in the John Doe II Scandal.
October 30, 2017
A bill that is slated to be voted on in the Wisconsin Assembly this week would let anyone go hunting, no matter how young. That bill, AB 455, is supported by the powerful gun lobby.