Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin)
A state lawmakers says a recent federal court decision could open the way for updating Wisconsin’s campaign finance laws.
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled this week that Wisconsin’s ban on corporate political spending is unconstitutional, along with limits on how much businesses can raise for their affiliated political action committees. State Senator Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) is applauding the decision as a victory for free speech and “really hit the nail on the head in terms of things that have concerned me; that our statutes and our processes are so very complicated.”
Lazich, you chairs the Senate Elections Committee, believes the court challenged lawmakers to rewrite the state’s campaign finance laws. She says it’s an assignment she plans to accept whole-heartedly in the next session, after working to draft legislation that complies with the appeals court ruling and others that have been made in recent years.
Several Democrats argue Wednesday’s ruling will open Wisconsin elections to more corruption and interference from wealthy special interests. Lazich says those responses are an “impulse reaction,” and she believes fact finding efforts will back up the court’s decision.