Lawmakers are poised to consider new regulations today on sometimes controversial ads that run during campaign season.
The Assembly has scheduled a vote for Tuesday on legislation requiring more disclosure from third party groups that finance so-called issue ads.
Mike McCabe of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign says the bill addresses some of the most negative ads that appear on the air during campaign season, by requiring the groups that pay for them to be up front about their membership and financial backers.
McCabe says current law allows those groups to keep that information secret. He says the loophole lets groups say whatever they want, as long as they don’t tell the public to vote for a specific candidate.
Under the bill, any group running an ad that names a candidate within 60 days of an election would have to file with the state and disclose where their funding comes from. McCabe says it wouldn’t prevent those types of ads from airing, but at least the public would know more about who is behind the message.
The state Senate already approved the bill earlier this year with bi-partisan support. McCabe says it’s unfortunate that the Assembly has delayed action until the last week of the Legislative session.
AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (1:14)
