Eight bills are being introduced in Madison that a sponsor says will help restore a more open and transparent state government campaign system.
State Senator Chris Larson was joined by open government advocates Wednesday.
The Democrat from Milwaukee is introducing the "Campaign Integrity" package to the legislature, designed to give the public a chance to see who are the money drivers in campaigns...
"...common sense changes that don't drastically overhaul the campaign finance system but put it into the mainstream so people can hold their elected officials accountable and see where the money is coming from and who is buying influence from politicians....."
Among the items the bills request is a restoration of campaign contribution limits, ending corporate contributions to campaigns, which Larson calls "legalized bribery", and clearer transparency for campaign contributions including watching for coordination of contributions from specific industries.
Larson says he already has co-signers to the bill, but passage is uncertain...
".....unfortunately we exist in a system that was purchased by legalized bribery with changes in the law that were put in place. They weren't put in place for good government reasons. They weren't put in place so the people would know what is going on. My expectations is those politicians that like the rigged system will be probably pushing against it. We'll see who that is...."
The Milwaukee Democrat was joined by members of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and Common Cause of Wisconsin to make the announcement.
