Judicial candidates could qualify for public campaign grants

Eligible judicial candidates could receive public grants for their campaigns. The grants would be for candidates for Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, court of appeals judge, and circuit court judge. Candidates would need qualifying donations from at least 1,000 separate Wisconsin voters, totaling $5,000 to $50,000, and required reports and commission certification. A candidate would need an opponent qualified for the ballot in the primary or election for which the candidate seeks a grant. For court of appeals and circuit court candidates, the proposed grants are $100,000 for the primary and $300,000 for the spring election; for Supreme Court candidates, they are $1 million and $3 million. The amounts would be adjusted for cost of living. Candidates would have to collect qualifying donations during the public financing qualifying period and apply separately for primary and spring-election grants.

Candidates who accept public grants would have to follow fundraising, spending, and recordkeeping limits. These limits would apply to eligible candidates and their committees after they accept a public financing benefit. Grant recipients could accept qualifying donations and limited seed money, but not other private contributions. Seed money from one contributor could not exceed $100, and total seed money, including personal funds, could not exceed $5,000. Personal funds could not be spent after the qualifying period. A candidate could accept no more than $25 in cash from one contributor and would face an overall cash limit. Committees would have to keep records and provide them to the commission for review. Candidates could spend seed money only during the exploratory and qualifying periods. They could not spend personal funds after the qualifying period ends.

Eligible income tax filers could choose to direct $5 to the democracy trust fund. The option would apply to individuals filing a Wisconsin income tax return who owe tax or are due a refund. A filer who owes state income tax or is due a refund could choose the transfer. Each spouse filing jointly could choose separately. The choice would not increase the filer's tax bill or reduce a refund. If the transfers did not cover grants and fund administration, the proposal would provide additional general-purpose state revenue.