Citizens and watchdog groups joined state legislators at the Capitol Wednesday to testify in support of Senate Bill 1, an initiative aimed at bringing ethics reform to Wisconsin.
In a public hearing of the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections, supporters discussed the bill, which would combine the state's existing Ethics and Elections boards if passed into law.
"It is a much needed change in the law that would put some teeth into the ethics and elections boards and would actually create some fear among people in the state government and in the Legislature not to do wrong," Common Cause in Wisconsin Executive Director Jay Heck said. "Right now, the problem is there is no fear."
SB 1 aims to create a single Government Accountability Board in an effort to fight existing campaign finance and election fraud in the state.
The newly created board would enjoy expanded powers to prosecute public officials who abuse their positions.
The bill was written partly in response to the Legislative Caucus Scandal, which led to the convictions of former Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala, D-Madison; former Sen. Brian Burke, D-Milwaukee; former Rep. Bonnie Ladwig, R-Racine; and former Rep. Steven Foti, R-Oconomowoc.
Current Rep. Scott Jensen, R-Waukesha, who also faces charges of fraudulent campaign-finance behavior, is scheduled to go to trial Feb. 21.
Nonpartisan political watchdog group Wisconsin Democracy Campaign testified at the public hearing, citing the recent legislative scandals as proof of the state government's corruption.
The bill, authored by Sen. Michael Ellis, R-Neenah, gained bipartisan support when introduced to the Legislature last year.
After a 28 to 5 affirmative vote in the Senate, it is awaiting Committee approval and Assembly confirmation.
"In light of the scandals that are concluding on the legislative side and now the things that appear to be emerging from within the [Doyle] administration, the bill will bring some improvements that are absolutely necessary and will go a long way to restore public confidence," Ellis spokesperson Michael Boerger said.
Ellis was among the many who testified at Wednesday's hearing, asking the Committee to vote in favor of the bill.
While many people view the initiative as a positive step toward comprehensive ethics reform, others are raising the question of funding as a major concern.
"The real main reason I voted against the bill is that I am not convinced or clear about the amount of money it will cost," former SB 1 co-author Sen. Alan Lasee, R-De Pere, said in a previous interview. "The state is in the red. We don't have the money."
SB 1 must be approved by the Committee, the full Assembly, and the governor before being signed into law.
The governor has voiced strong support for the measure and has included it in his proposed ethics reform package.
If enacted into law, the bill would mark the most significant reform of its kind since the creation of the Ethics Board.
