Although the state Government Accountability Board will begin allowing unlimited corporate election spending in accordance with a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, it announced measures to maximize campaign finance transparency at a meeting Tuesday.
The board voted unanimously to require corporations and interest groups to register as political committees, place disclaimers on their advertising and report their spending and fundraising. GAB spokesperson Reid Magney said these changes would allow the public to make more informed decisions.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in January that restricting corporate spending in campaigns is unconstitutional. The decision invalidated Wisconsin's law, in effect since 1905, that prohibits companies from contributing to candidates or buying election ads.
According to Mike McCabe, executive director of the government watchdog group Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, the board is trying to make the best of a ""disastrous"" federal ruling and hold corporations accountable as much as possible.
""[The board's steps] are very important countermeasures to the Supreme Court ruling, and it helps repair some of the damage that was done,"" McCabe said.
But Mike Wittenwyler, an attorney who works with groups that run political advertising, said corporations will continue to sponsor advertising despite the obligatory disclaimers and will not increase their spending in a struggling economy.
Magney, however, suggested companies may not put in as much money as some people expect because they would risk alienating customers.
""If a corporation would pay for an ad criticizing a popular politician ... people who support that politician may decide to stop buying the company's product in protest,"" Magney said.
The board's decision requires disclaimers on ""issue ads."" McCabe said interest groups have been able to avoid disclosure by running ads that address pre-election politics without explicitly advocating for a certain candidate. He said the board closed ""the single biggest loophole in Wisconsin's campaign finance law.""
Wittenwyler criticized this phrasing and said the board did nothing to prevent groups from getting their message out.
""[‘Loophole'] is a fascinating way to describe people speaking up on issues they care about, that it's a loophole that we have the First Amendment,"" Wittenwyler said.
The board's measures will automatically become law if the state Legislature does not take action to block them by the beginning of May.
