A proposed settlement in federal court would lift Wisconsin’s restrictions on how much can be donated to candidates for state offices.
State officials have agreed to end a $10,000 annual cap on how much any single donor can give to candidates. Jay Heck with Wisconsin Common Cause says the move is not a surprise, after a U.S. Supreme Court decision last month found such limits are unconstitutional and can no longer be enforced. Still, he says the agreement will like mean “a lot more money in Wisconsin politics.”
Heck says limits on how much a person can give to any one candidate will remain in place, which range from $500 in Assembly races to $10,000 for statewide constitutional offices and the Supreme Court. He has doubts though about how long those will last though, arguing that deregulation is “certainly in the gun sights” of many groups.
The settlement is a part of a lawsuit brought by Fred Young of Racine, who sued because he wanted to exceed the state’s overall contribution limits. A federal judge in Milwaukee still has to sign-off on the proposed agreement.