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Campaign Finance Reform

ISSUE:

Campaign fundraising and spending is increasing by 50% every two years. The skyrocketing cost of legislative campaigns make legislators and legislative leaders dependent on special interests and wealthy contributors.

• Campaign contributions from special interests may influence legislators at key times in the legislative process.
• Individuals with developmental disabilities, particularly people on Supplemental Security Income or employed in minimum wage positions, typically have few resources funds to contribute to campaigns.

Both the Assembly and Senate introduced campaign finance reform legislation during the 1999-2001 session. The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign has initiated a Voters First coalition to support the best elements of each plan in one package. Highlights of the Voters First plan:

• Establishes spending limits and incentives to stay within those limits.
• Guarantees a source of funding for public grants to candidates who limit their spending.
• Remedies the problem of independent elec-tioneering by special interest groups by providing matching grants to candidates targeted by these groups, and requiring groups that run "issue ads" to identify themselves and disclose their source of funding.
• Reduces the influence of big donors by reducing individual contribution limits.
• Curtails special interest influence by prohibiting the pooling of PAC money, the bundling of individual contributions and abolishing legislative campaign committees
• Enhances disclosure by requiring electronic reporting of contributions and spending.

POSITION:

The WCDD supports campaign financing reform initiatives which give every citizen equal access to legislators regardless of campaign contributions.

LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES:

The Council supports the following legislative initiatives:

• Pass and sign into law the Voters First campaign finance reform package in its entirety during the 2001-2003 legislative session.

Back to WCDD Home Page > Introduction

1. Introduction
2. Birth to Three
3. Campaign Finance Reform
4. Children's Long Term Care Redesign
5. Community Aids
6. Community Integration Program
7. Community Options Program
8. Dental Care Access
9. Direct Service Workforce Shortage
10. Education of Students with Disabilities
11. Employment
12. Family Care Program
13. Family Support Program
14. Independent Living Assistive Technology
15. Medicaid Card Services
16. Mental Health: Fairness in Insurance
17. Mental Health: Services & Supports
18. Protecting People with Disabilities from Abuse
19. Respite Care
20. Specialized Transportation
21. State Centers for the Developmentally Disabled
22. Voting Reforms
23. Welfare Reform & People with Disabilities