2010 Wisconsin Code
Chapter 11. Campaign financing.
11.21 Duties of the government accountability board.

11.21

11.21 Duties of the government accountability board. The board shall:

11.21(1)

(1) Prescribe forms for making the reports, statements and notices required by this chapter. The board shall furnish forms for making reports or statements without charge to all persons who are required to file reports or statements with the board, and shall distribute or arrange for the distribution of all forms for use by other filing officers.

11.21(2)

(2) Furnish to each registrant prescribed forms for the making of reports and statements. Forms shall be sent by 1st class mail not earlier than 21 days and not later than 14 days prior to the applicable filing deadline under s. 11.20, and addressed to the attention of the treasurer or other person indicated on the registration statement. Forms need not be sent to a registrant who has made an indication that aggregate contributions, disbursements and obligations will not exceed the amount specified under s. 11.05 (2r) or to a registrant who has been granted a suspension under s. 11.19 (2). Forms for reports shall not be sent by the board to a registrant if the registrant is required to file reports with the board in an electronic format. Whenever any notice of filing requirements under this chapter is sent to a candidate's campaign treasurer, the board shall also send a notice to the candidate if he or she has appointed a separate treasurer. Failure to receive any form or notice does not exempt a registrant from compliance with this chapter.

11.21(3)

(3) Prepare and publish for the use of persons required to file reports and statements under this chapter a manual setting forth simply and concisely recommended uniform methods of bookkeeping and reporting.

11.21(4)

(4) Develop a filing, coding, and cross-indexing system consonant with the purposes of this chapter.

11.21(5)

(5) Make the reports and statements filed with it available for public inspection and copying, commencing as soon as practicable but not later than the end of the 2nd day following the day during which they are received, and permit copying of any report or statement by hand or by duplicating machine at cost, as requested by any person. No information copied from such reports and statements may be sold or utilized by any person for the purpose of soliciting contributions from individuals identified in the reports or statements or for any commercial purpose.

11.21(6)

(6) Compile and maintain a current list of all reports and statements or parts thereof pertaining to each candidate, individual, committee or group.

11.21(7)

(7) Include in its biennial report under s. 15.04 (1) (d) compilations of any of the following in its discretion:

11.21(7)(a)

(a) Total reported contributions, disbursements and incurred obligations for all candidates, individuals, committees and groups during the biennium.

11.21(7)(b)

(b) Total amounts expended according to such categories as it may determine and separated according to candidate, political party, and nonparty disbursements.

11.21(7)(c)

(c) Total amounts expended for influencing nominations and elections stated separately whenever separate information is reported.

11.21(7)(d)

(d) Total amounts contributed according to such categories of amounts as it determines for candidates, individuals, committees and groups.

11.21(7)(e)

(e) Aggregate amounts contributed by any contributors shown to have contributed more than $100.

11.21(8)

(8) Prepare and publish from time to time special reports comparing the various totals and categories of contributions and disbursements made with respect to preceding elections.

11.21(9)

(9) Maintain a duplicate record of any separate schedule under s. 11.06 (1) (j) received with the financial report of an individual or committee filing an oath under s. 11.06 (7) together with the record of each candidate to whom it relates.

11.21(10)

(10) Make available a list of delinquents for public inspection.

11.21(11)

(11) Receive and maintain in an orderly manner all reports and statements required to be filed with the state under the federal election campaign act, and in addition shall:

11.21(11)(a)

(a) Preserve such reports and statements for a period of 6 years from date of receipt.

11.21(11)(b)

(b) Notwithstanding sub. (5), make each report and statement transmitted to it under the federal election campaign act available for public inspection and copying during regular office hours, commencing as soon as practicable but not later than 48 hours from the time of receipt.

11.21(11)(c)

(c) Compile and maintain a current list of all reports and statements or parts thereof pertaining to each candidate who is required to file a report or statement under such act.

11.21(11)(d)

(d) Promptly compile and release for public inspection a list of all reports received from candidates for national office and from committees supporting or opposing such candidates which are required to be filed with the state under the federal election campaign act, as soon as possible after each deadline for receipt of such reports as provided by federal law.

11.21(12)

(12) Assign an identification number to each registrant for whom the board acts as a filing officer under s. 11.02.

11.21(13)

(13) Determine whether each financial report or statement required to be filed under this chapter has been filed in the form and by the time prescribed by law, and whether it conforms on its face to the requirements of this chapter. The board shall immediately send to any registrant who is delinquent in filing, or who has filed otherwise than in the proper form, a notice that the registrant has failed to comply with this chapter. Whenever a candidate has appointed another person as campaign treasurer, the board shall send the notice to both persons.

11.21(14)

(14) Prepare, publish and periodically revise as necessary a manual simply and concisely describing the filing and registration requirements established in this chapter in detail, as well as other major provisions of this chapter and ch. 12.

11.21(15)

(15) Inform each candidate who files an application to become eligible to receive a grant from the Wisconsin election campaign fund of the dollar amount of the applicable disbursement limitation under s. 11.31 which applies to the office for which such person is a candidate. Failure to receive the notice required by this subsection does not constitute a defense to a violation of s. 11.27 (1) or 11.31.

11.21(16)

(16) Require each registrant for whom the board serves as filing officer and who or which accepts contributions in a total amount or value of $20,000 or more during a campaign period to file each campaign finance report that is required to be filed under this chapter in an electronic format, and accept from any other registrant for whom the board serves as a filing officer any campaign finance report that is required to be filed under this chapter in an electronic format. A registrant who or which becomes subject to a requirement to file reports in an electronic format under this subsection shall initially file the registrant's report in an electronic format for the period which includes the date on which the registrant becomes subject to the requirement. To facilitate implementation of this subsection, the board shall specify, by rule, a type of software that is suitable for compliance with the electronic filing requirement under this subsection. The board shall provide copies of the software to registrants at a price fixed by the board that may not exceed cost. Each registrant who or which files a report under this subsection in an electronic format shall also file a copy of the report with the board that is recorded on a medium specified by the board. The copy shall be signed by an authorized individual and filed with the board by each registrant no later than the time prescribed for filing of the report under this chapter. The board shall provide complete instructions to any registrant who or which files a report under this subsection. In this subsection, the "campaign period" of a candidate, personal campaign committee or support committee begins and ends with the "campaign" of the candidate whose candidacy is supported, as defined in s. 11.26 (17), and the "campaign period" of any other registrant begins on January 1 of each odd-numbered year and ends on December 31 of the following year.

11.21(17)

(17) Promulgate rules that require public access channel operators and licensees of public television stations in this state to provide a minimum amount of free time on public access channels and public television stations to individuals whose names are certified under s. 7.08 (2) (a) or 8.50 (1) (d) to appear as candidates for state office on the ballot at general, spring, or special elections. The rules promulgated under this subsection shall require public access channel operators and licensees of public television stations to offer the same amount of time to each candidate for a particular state office, but may require different amounts of time to be offered to candidates for different offices.

11.21 - ANNOT.

History: 1973 c. 334; 1975 c. 93 ss. 73 to 78, 119 (2); 1977 c. 107; 1979 c. 260, 328; 1981 c. 390 s. 252; 1983 a. 27, 538; 1985 a. 303; 1987 a. 370; 1989 a. 192; 1997 a. 230; 2001 a. 109; 2005 a. 177; 2007 a. 1.

11.21 - ANNOT.

Cross Reference: See also s. GAB 6.05, Wis. adm. code.