The state Assembly was expected to give final approval Monday to a pair of Republican-backed bills that would significantly alter the flow of money into Wisconsin political campaigns and dramatically change oversight of elections, campaign finance and ethics laws.
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Democrats didn’t have the votes to stop either bill in a previous Assembly vote, or in the Senate where they were amended and passed November 6.
The proposal now heads to Gov. Scott Walker, who is expected to sign it.
The bill also allows corporations to donate up to $12,000 to political parties and legislative campaign committees and removes a requirement that donors disclose their employer.
The move to do away with the board came after it authorized a secret John Doe investigation into Walker and conservative groups related to the 2011 and 2012 recall elections.
The legislation calls for splitting the GAB into separate ethics and elections commissions, with six-member boards appointed on a partisan basis. Rep. Dean Knudson (R-Hudson), a sponsor of the bill, said Monday that the agency’s “actions over these last few years have been a stain on Wisconsin’s reputation for clean and open government” and argued that it would be a mistake to let more time pass without making serious reforms at the agency. The vote on the first amendment was 58-37 and 56-37 on the second. The G-O-P says the campaign finance changes will put the state in line with recent court decisions – including one that lets candidates work with outside groups on fund-raising.
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Another Senate change would empower a legislative committee now controlled by majority Republicans to appoint head administrators for the proposed new boards – which likely would be evenly split between Republicans and Democrats – if they deadlock on votes to pick the administrators.
