Senate Republicans say they have agreement on GAB

But they spent all day Friday working on revisions.

Because of the changes made by the Senate, the Assembly will have to re-approve the bills before they can advance to the governor’s desk.

“We’re not doing that”, Sen. Dave Hansen, D-Green Bay, said. “We’re here today to continue our efforts to tear down the last remnants of our proud, open, progressive government in Wisconsin”.

Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, countered that the state’s campaign finance laws desperately need updating. “This bill is before us because it’s necessary”.

The campaign finance bill as passed by the Assembly would double how much individuals can contribute to candidates, clarify that candidates and issue advocacy groups can work closely together and allow for unlimited corporate and union donations to political parties and legislative campaign committees.

It would also do away with the requirement that donors divulge their employer. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, said early Friday that GOP senators expect to retain a requirement to report the employers of most campaign contributors.

The Senate was also scheduled to vote Friday on another bill rewriting the state’s campaign finance laws.

The Assembly passed both bills October 21, less than two weeks after they were introduced.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald had promised that the proposed changes to the other two bills would be released on Thursday.

Rothschild decried the secretive process used by the Senate to craft its changes to the bills. Legislative campaign committees would be forbidden from using corporate and union donations for express advocacy, communications and advertisements that specifically call for a candidate’s election or defeat.

The Fitzgerald amendment would reduce the required frequency for campaign finance reporting by candidates and other political committees from a quarterly basis, as outlined in the Assembly bill, to a biannual basis.

The chamber approved the amendment on a voice vote.

No Democrats voted for the proposals, which Republican backers argue are needed to bring the state’s campaign finance law in line with recent court opinions and fix what they say is a failed experiment of a nonpartisan elections board consisting of six retired judges.

Opponents argue the bills weaken oversight of the state’s elections and ethics laws, while making it easier for shadowy third party interest groups to influence campaigns without the public knowing who is spending on the races. They finished crafting an amendment late Friday afternoon that would place two retired judges on the ethics commission, according to a memo from the Legislature’s attorneys.

The GAB, created in 2007 with bipartisan support, has come under increased scrutiny for its part in a 2012 John Doe investigation into alleged violations during Gov. Scott Walker’s recall campaign.

But supporters say its unique structure makes it a national model.

The Assembly passed a bill last month that created two new ethics and elections commissions with an equal number of Democratic and Republican appointees.

Senate Democratic leadership has called on Republicans to negotiate a full omnibus spending bill that adheres to the budget agreement.