Press Release
June 7, 2013
CONTACT:
Jay Heck – 608/256-2686
Republican Campaign Finance & Election Measure to Undergo
Big Changes Before Executive Session Next Week
Assembly Bill 225 Author - Rep. Jeff Stone Says Major Provisions Will Be Removed
during Wisconsin Eye Exchange with CC/WI Director Jay Heck
The fast-tracked, hyper-partisan campaign finance and elections measure which Common Cause in Wisconsin has vigorously opposed --
Assembly Bill 225 -- received a public hearing earlier this week, and the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections heard a
great deal of
opposition to the ill-conceived legislation.
Yesterday, the lead author of Assembly Bill 225, State Representative
Jeff Stone (R-Greendale), appeared with CC/WI director
Jay Heck for a spirited exchange of views about this legislation on
Wisconsin Eye's "Newsmakers" Program, hosted by moderator and long-time Capitol journalist
Steve Walters.
During the program, Heck pressed Stone on the revisions to the photo voter I.D. law and -- most pointedly -- on the campaign finance change which would codify into law secret money funding phony issue ads. This change was inserted in Assembly Bill 225 at the insistence of long-time Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce lobbyist
James Buchen.
Also discussed and debated were other provisions of the photo I.D. law, a measure to rein in recall elections in Wisconsin, a provision to expand the number of candidates the Governor can choose from to serve on the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, and other matters.
Stone said it was likely that Assembly Bill 225 would head to an executive session as early as next week and then be sent to the full Assembly for consideration. But he also said that it was very likely that the campaign finance provisions blocking disclosure of the donors of outside spending as well as photo voter I.D. provisions regarding affidavits and other parts of the law would be removed from the legislation. Stone also said that he would be working to bring Democratic input into the legislation to create a final bill that would have bipartisan support. Bipartisan support for the legislation is critical -- a point Heck hammered over and over during the exchange.
Whether or not Jeff Stone can deliver these changes and turn what is currently a hyper-partisan, terrible campaign finance and election package into something worthy of bipartisan support, and that can be supported by all Wisconsinites, remains to be seen. But if CC/WI can be of further assistance in improving Assembly Bill 225 and transforming it into legislation that will reduce special interest influence in our elections and protect the ability of all Wisconsinites who are eligible to vote to be able to cast a vote without being unfairly burdened and hindered from doing so, then we will continue to be willing to talk to anyone about it. We will continue to speak out in any event, because that's what we do.
We feel as if we made some progress and important inroads through our testimony and from this exchange into at least the beginning of a better outcome for the campaign finance and election reform battle that was waged this week. But we will see what next week brings.
You can watch the entire program with Stone, Heck and Walters here, and judge for yourself where this is all headed. Let us know what you think.
__________________________________________
Jay Heck, Executive Director
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686
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Intro only...
Press Release
June 5, 2013
CONTACT:
Jay Heck – 608/256-2686
Fast-Tracked Campaign Finance & Election Package
Is Even Worse Than We Thought
WMC-Inspired Provision Would Eviscerate Almost All Disclosure
of Outside Special Interest Groups
Yesterday in the State Capitol, the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections held its sole public hearing on legislation that first surfaced only last week and was introduced just this past Friday.
Assembly Bill 225 is a big chunk of public policy -- almost all of it bad.
The campaign finance part of the bill ought to be split from the election and voting components of the bill and considered separately -- and only after all of it has been public for a good long while and the Citizens of Wisconsin have had an opportunity to see and understand it. The consequences of enacting this package into law would be severely detrimental for Wisconsinites for years to come. It ought to be stopped and considered carefully in the sunshine. There is certainly plenty of time. The next elections in Wisconsin are not for nearly a year.
Instead, the entire bill is being rushed through the Assembly while state budget consideration is dominating the attention of the media and most Wisconsinites. While the author of the legislation, State Rep.
Jeff Stone (R-Greendale) and the Assembly Speaker,
Robin Vos (R-Rochester) both said yesterday that they were still seeking "input" on the bill, it is clear that they have the hyper-partisan package that they want and will ram it through the Assembly before the end of June. Vos' appearance at the committee hearing is an indication of the high partisan priority that he places on flooding Wisconsin elections with more special interest money, making that money far less transparent, and in making it more difficult for tens of thousands of Wisconsinites to vote.
There were several hours of testimony -- primarily on election issues and the photo voter I.D. law. But the most alarming testimony of the day came from James Buchen, the long-time government relations director for Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC), the state's largest business lobbying organization and a long-time fierce opponent of transparency, spending limits, and reducing special interest money in campaigns and public-policy-making. Buchen clearly has had a huge influence in the writing of the campaign finance component of AB 225. Buchen all but admitted to being the originator of the section of the bill that would "protect" from disclosure the donors to phony issue ads -- which are campaign communications masquerading as issue advocacy. These communications clearly are designed to influence the outcome of state elections, but because they do not use express advocacy -- which are what are known as "magic words" such as "vote for" or "defeat" or "elect" or "support" -- they are not currently subject to disclosure requirements.
Assembly Bill 225 and Buchen would take Wisconsin in exactly the opposite direction that the rest of the nation is headed in the wake of the Citizens United vs. F.E.C. decision. The "Buchen provision" in Assembly Bill 225 would codify into Wisconsin law protection from disclosure of phony issue ads. It does not take a genius to see that that is where all outside groups would head in order to influence elections and escape disclosure.
The end result would be that Wisconsinites will have no idea who is behind almost all of the money from outside special interest groups seeking to influence their vote in elections in Wisconsin. The money could come from anywhere inside or outside of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin voters would not know it's origin.
No other state is headed in this direction.
All other states are headed toward more disclosure of outside money. Eight of Nine U.S. Supreme Court Justices in Citizens United urged Congress and the States to enact stronger disclosure laws. AB 225 would cause less disclosure and make it much more difficult to know who is funding elections in Wisconsin.
There are many other reasons why Assembly Bill 225 should be scrapped, and we have listed other objections to the measure previously. But the secret money "Buchen" provision in this legislation should make all Wisconsinites very afraid. It would codify into Wisconsin law the spending of more secret outside money to influence our state's elections.
You can view CC/WI Director Jay Heck's testimony against this legislation here. You can view the entire public hearing from Wisconsin Eye (including the testimony of James Buchen) here. To read a powerful editorial opposing AB 225, go here.
Stay tuned.
__________________________________________
Jay Heck, Executive Director
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686
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Intro only...
Press Release
June 3, 2013
CONTACT:
Jay Heck – 608/256-2686
Hyper-Partisan, Deeply Flawed
Campaign Finance & Election Bill on Fast Track
Public Hearing Tuesday -- Floor Action Thursday
A highly-partisan campaign finance and election measure that would make campaign spending less transparent, expand lobbyist campaign contributions, and continue to burden Wisconsin voters with the most restrictive and extreme voting law in the nation -- was introduced just this past Friday -- May 31st. A
public hearing notice was posted just this morning for a single public hearing in the Capitol in Madison (at 10 AM Tuesday in Room 417 - North) for this terrible public policy. It will then be quickly passed along partisan lines, and scheduled by the Republican Assembly leadership for a vote in the Assembly on Thursday.
Sound familiar?
This is how you ram through hyper-partisan, controversial legislation that you are not particularly proud of and do not want the opposition to it to have time to coalesce against. You suddenly spring it on the public -- and then ram it through before citizens even know what hit them. This is divisive, power politics at its worst and one of the reasons citizens increasingly distrust public officials.
As we said
last week, this measure --
Assembly Bill 225 -- ought to be scrapped. Instead, Rep.
Jeff Stone (R-Greendale), the bill's main sponsor, ought to start over and work with reform-minded legislators on both sides of the partisan divide and craft a
bipartisan package that could really fix Wisconsin's many campaign finance and election problems instead of making them worse. Together, they should craft
bipartisan reform that doesn't provide political advantage for one political party over another and that instead, benefits all of the citizens of Wisconsin. Only
bipartisan campaign finance and election reform is effective and long-lasting.
To refresh your memory, there are many things wrong with this legislation. Here are some of the most prominent flaws.
Common Cause in Wisconsin opposes this measure and we have been outspoken in telling voters what is wrong with it.
And we have a much better, positive and bipartisan political reform alternative that legislators of both parties should embrace and pass -- Senate Bill 166. CC/WI's director, Jay Heck, had this opinion-editorial published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Sunday which provides details.
We will be at the public hearing tomorrow in Madison to testify in opposition to Assembly Bill 225. You need to let both your State Representative and your State Senator that you oppose Assembly Bill 225 as well. To contact your legislators, go here. If you are not sure who your legislators are, go here.
__________________________________________
Jay Heck, Executive Director
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686
Read More...
Intro only...
Yesterday, the lead author of Assembly Bill 225, State Representative Jeff Stone (R-Greendale), appeared with CC/WI director Jay Heck for a spirited exchange of views about this legislation on Wisconsin Eye's "Newsmakers" Program, hosted by moderator and long-time Capitol journalist Steve Walters. 
