After receiving a public hearing earlier this month, a bill allowing donors to opt out disclosing their employer on campaign donations of $500 or less will receive another hearing Tuesday. The proposed bill would increase the minimum donation requiring a donor’s disclosure of their employer from $100 under current law to $500. Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, said the purpose of the bill is to prevent businesses who donate to certain politicians from being boycotted by those who disagree with their donation choices. “The bill is to prevent the full force of purchasing power of the police, fire and teachers unions from punishing employers whose employees give small amounts of money to political campaigns,” Grothman said.
After the 2012 recall gubernatorial election, Wisconsin unions sent letters to the president of M&I Corporation and threatened to boycott the bank’s services if it refused to publicly oppose Walker, Grothman added.
Phil Neuenfeldt, president of the Wisconsin chapter of AFL-CIO, said the organization has looked at campaign finance laws since they seem to promote “certain special interests.”
Those against the bill allowing for less employer disclosure include the League of Women Voters and the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.
Full Article: The Badger Herald · Absentee voting, campaign finance bills to get hearing Tuesday – The Badger Herald.