League of Women Voters of Wisconsin - Legislative Activities/Advocacy

News & Events

Assembly Bill Encourages Open Government

Assembly Bill 322 encourages informed and active participation in government. It removes a requirement that individuals provide their name and address when requesting a statement of economic interests filed by a state official or employee with the Government Accountability Board. Read our statement here.

League Supports Impartial Justice and Issue Ad Disclosure

The League supports two measures currently before the state Legislature:

Impartial Justice, which provides full public financing of Supreme Court elections
Special Interest Electioneering Disclosure, which makes those claiming to air "issue ads," while referencing candidates positively or negatively during campaigns, accountable to the regulations for independent election campaign spending.

Read our statement here.

League Petitions Court for Recusal Rule

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 8 in a landmark case related to how much influence special interests will have on our courts. In 2004, a West Virginia coal executive working for Massey Energy Company spent $3 million to elect a state Supreme Court justice while appealing a $50 million jury award against his company. In 2007, that justice refused to recuse himself, and joined two colleagues as the court overturned the jury award in a 3-2 decision. The case was eventually appealed to the Supreme Court.

The recent 5-4 ruling in favor of Caperton establishes a minimum standard of due process needed to ensure that all parties receive a fair, impartial judge. More information is available on the Brennan Center for Justice's Caperton resource page.

The case highlights the need for states to enact their own reforms to reduce special interest influence. Wisconsin Supreme Court elections in 2007 and 2008 have made Wisconsin a national poster child for runaway campaign spending. The LWVWI Education Fund has petitioned the state Supreme Court to institute new rules that prohibit judges and justices from ruling on cases involving major campaign contributors. We're looking forward to a hearing for our petition this fall. Read more here: Fair Courts Petition Q & A.pdf

Annual Meeting Recorded by Wisconsin Eye

The Wisconsin League's 2009 Annual Meeting was held May 29 and 30 in Manitowoc. The speaker presentations and business meetings were taped by Wisconsin Eye, which has posted audio and video recordings on its website. Speaker handouts on the 2010 Census, Redistricting and Health Care Reform are available here.

State Budget

Read our statement about AB 75, the state biennial budget, proposed by Governor Doyle and currently being considered by the Joint Committee on Finance: icon LWVWIEF Statement on State Budget 2009. See the process for passing the state budget here.

Think Revenue, Not Just Cuts

Good government needs resources to serve the people.

As Wisconsin policy makers, activists and other residents consider our state budget, our challenge is to figure out how in these lean times we can maintain our government structures to support public safety and economic development. The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin has long believed that the income tax is the fairest way to raise revenue for public services and structures. Read more here.

Guidelines for Judicial Candidates

Civic groups in five Great Lakes states are calling on more than 700 judicial candidates to follow new campaign conduct guidelines that help them steer clear of special interest pressures and political agendas. A nine-page memo, mailed to candidates in Wisconsin and four other states warns of the dangers posed by rising campaign costs, angry and misleading television ads, and growing ethical quandaries over what to say on the campaign trail about cases that might land in court. It offers advice on how judicial candidates can and must negotiate these challenges to promote continued public confidence that courts are fair, impartial and accountable to the law. Read the press release here. See the memo here.

Get Involved

Want to learn more about the Election process? Looking for a non-partisan way to participate and contribute in this year's elections? SUPPORT US or JOIN THE LEAGUE - we'd love to have you! Our voice is as only as strong as our membership. Help us make an impact during this important and exciting election year!