October 24, 2015

The Kochs Want to End WI's Era of Clean Government

The Kochs Want to End WI's Era of Clean Government

"This week, the Wisconsin state legislature will take up a trifecta of bills that will undermine the state's long traditions of clean and transparent government.

One bill will gut the state's campaign finance laws and retroactively decriminalize the secretive campaign finance schemes that Walker engaged in during the recall elections, opening the doors to new levels of dark money in state elections.

Another bill will cripple the the state's nonpartisan Government Accountability Board--considered a model for other states--and turn it into a toothless, partisan agency. The board of nonpartisan retired judges will be replaced with partisan appointees that are guaranteed to gridlock (like the ineffective Federal Elections Commission), and gives the legislature power to cut funding for an investigation that it doesn't like.

A third bill will prohibit Wisconsin's John Doe statute, which was used to investigate Walker and is similar to a grand jury yet in front of a judge, from being used to investigate political corruption."