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SB1153 • 2025

campaign contribution limits

campaign contribution limits

Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor
Senators Larson, Smith, Dassler-Alfheim and Keyeski, cosponsored by Representatives Sinicki, Tenorio, Miresse, Clancy, Kirsch, Johnson, Udell, Moore Omokunde, Bare, Billings, Roe, Arney, Fitzgerald, Sheehan, Brown, McCarville, Stroud, Palmeri, Stubbs and Mayadev
Last action
2026-03-23
Official status
S - Government Operations, Labor and Economic Development
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

campaign contribution limits

campaign contribution limits Status: S - Government Operations, Labor and Economic Development

What This Bill Does

  • campaign contribution limits Status: S - Government Operations, Labor and Economic Development

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-23 Sen.

    Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1

  2. 2026-03-19 Sen.

    Introduced by Senators Larson , Smith , Dassler-Alfheim and Keyeski ; cosponsored by Representatives Sinicki , Tenorio , Miresse , Clancy , Kirsch , Johnson , Udell , Moore Omokunde , Bare , Billings , Roe , Arney , Fitzgerald , Sheehan , Brown , McCarville , Stroud , Palmeri , Stubbs and Mayadev

  3. 2026-03-19 Sen.

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Government Operations, Labor and Economic Development

Official Summary Text

campaign contribution limits
Status: S - Government Operations, Labor and Economic Development

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
Wisconsin Legislature: SB1153: Bill Text

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SB1153: Bill Text

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2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE
LRB-6559/1
JK:ajk
2025 SENATE BILL 1153
March 19, 2026 - Introduced by Senators
Larson
,
Smith
,
Dassler-Alfheim
and
Keyeski
, cosponsored by Representatives
Sinicki
,
Tenorio
,
Miresse
,
Clancy
,
Kirsch
,
Johnson
,
Udell
,
Moore Omokunde
,
Bare
,
Billings
,
Roe
,
Arney
,
Fitzgerald
,
Sheehan
,
Brown
,
McCarville
,
Stroud
,
Palmeri
,
Stubbs
and
Mayadev
. Referred to Committee on Government Operations, Labor and Economic Development.
SB1153,1,6
1
An Act

to amend
11.1101 (figure), 11.1101 (1) (intro.), 11.1101 (1) (a), 11.1101
2
(2) (intro.), 11.1101 (2) (a), 11.1101 (3), 11.1101 (4), 11.1103 (1) (intro.) and (2)
3
(intro.), 11.1103 (3), 11.1112 and 11.1113 (3) (b);
to repeal and recreate

4
11.1101 (3) (k) 2., 11.1101 (4) (k) 2., 11.1101 (5) (h) 2. and 11.1104;
to create

5
11.1101 (5) and 11.1204 (4) of the statutes;
relating to:
campaign
6
contribution limits.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Current law allows unlimited campaign contributions to certain entities, such as political action committees, legislative campaign committees, and political parties, but prohibits a political action committee from contributing more than $12,000 in any calendar year to a political party or legislative campaign committee. This bill limits the contributions that an individual may make to a political party or legislative campaign committee to the amounts that an individual may make to a candidate committee, as provided under the bill. The bill also limits the contributions that a political party or legislative campaign committee may make to a candidate committee to the amounts that an individual may make to a candidate committee, as provided under the bill. In addition, the bill limits the contributions that a candidate committee may make to a political party or legislative campaign committee to the amounts that the candidate committee may make under current law to another candidate committee but retains the unlimited contributions under current law for contributions that a candidate makes to the candidate’s candidate committee from the candidate’s personal funds.
The bill also decreases the individual and candidate committee contribution limit from $20,000 to $10,000 for contributions made to candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, state superintendent, or justice of the supreme court and reduces by half the limits that apply to political action committee contributions to candidates. The limits under the bill are the same, generally, as those that applied to political action committee contributions prior to 2016.
Finally, current law allows a political party or legislative campaign committee to establish a segregated fund to use for general purposes but not for making contributions to a candidate committee or for making disbursements for express advocacy. Persons other than a political action committee, corporation, cooperative, labor organization, or American Indian tribe may make unlimited contributions to the segregated fund. A political action committee, corporation, cooperative, labor organization, or American Indian tribe may make a contribution to the fund in amounts not to exceed $12,000 in the aggregate in a calendar year. The bill eliminates the provision allowing a political party or legislative campaign committee to establish such a fund.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
SB1153,1
1
Section
1
.
11.1101 (figure) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB1153,2,2
2
Figure 11.1101:
-
See PDF for table

SB1153,2
1
Section
2
.
11.1101 (1) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB1153,3,5
2
11.1101
(1)

Individual limits.
(intro.) An individual may contribute to a
3
candidate committee
, political party, or legislative campaign committee
no more
4
than the following amounts specified for
the

a
candidate whose nomination or
5
election the
individual

committee or party
supports [See Figure 11.1101 following]:
SB1153,3
6
Section
3
.
11.1101 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB1153,3,9
7
11.1101
(1)
(a) Candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of
8
state, state treasurer, attorney general, state superintendent, or justice,
$20,000

9
$10,000
.
SB1153,4
10
Section
4
.
11.1101 (2) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB1153,3,15
11
11.1101
(2)

Candidate committees.
(intro.) A candidate committee may
12
contribute to another candidate committee
, a political party, or a legislative
13
campaign committee
no more than the following amounts specified for
the

a

14
candidate whose nomination or election the
other candidate
committee
, political
15
party, or legislative campaign committee
supports [See Figure 11.1101 following]:
SB1153,5
16
Section
5
.
11.1101 (2) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB1153,4,3
1
11.1101
(2)
(a) Candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of
2
state, state treasurer, attorney general, state superintendent, or justice,
$20,000

3
$10,000
.
SB1153,6
4
Section
6
.
11.1101 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB1153,4,9
5
11.1101
(3)

Political action committees.
A political action committee may
6
contribute to a
political party or legislative campaign committee no more than
7
$12,000 in any calendar year, and to a
candidate committee no more than the
8
following amounts specified for the candidate whose nomination or election the
9
committee supports [See Figure 11.1101 following]:
SB1153,4,10
10
(a) Candidates for governor,
$86,000

$43,000
.
SB1153,4,11
11
(b) Candidates for lieutenant governor,
$26,000

$13,000
.
SB1153,4,12
12
(c) Candidates for attorney general,
$44,000

$22,000
.
SB1153,4,14
13
(d) Candidates for secretary of state, state treasurer, state superintendent, or
14
justice,
$18,000

$9,000
.
SB1153,4,15
15
(e) Candidates for state senator,
$2,000

$1,000
.
SB1153,4,16
16
(f) Candidates for representative to the assembly,
$1,000

$500
.
SB1153,4,18
17
(g) Candidates for court of appeals judge in districts which contain a county
18
having a population of more than 750,000,
$6,000

$3,000
.
SB1153,4,19
19
(h) Candidates for court of appeals judge in other districts,
$5,000

$2,500
.
SB1153,4,22
20
(i) Candidates for circuit judge in circuits having a population of more than
21
300,000, or candidates for district attorney in prosecutorial units having a
22
population of more than 300,000,
$6,000

$3,000
.
SB1153,5,2
1
(j) Candidates for circuit judge in other circuits or candidates for district
2
attorney in other prosecutorial units,
$2,000

$1,000
.
SB1153,5,4
3
(k) Candidates for local offices, an amount equal to the greater of the
4
following:
SB1153,5,5
5
1.
Four

Two
hundred dollars.
SB1153,5,9
6
2.
Two cents

One cent
times the number of inhabitants of the jurisdiction or
7
district, according to the latest federal census or the census information on which
8
the district is based, as certified by the appropriate filing officer, but not more than
9
$5,000

$2,500
.
SB1153,7
10
Section

7
.
11.1101 (3) (k) 2. of the statutes, as affected by 2023 Wisconsin
11
Act 126 and
2025 Wisconsin Acts 7
, section
2
, and .... (this act), is repealed and
12
recreated to read:
SB1153,5,16
13
11.1101
(3)
(k) 2. One cent times the number of inhabitants of the jurisdiction
14
or district, according to the latest federal census or the census information on which
15
the district is based, as certified by the appropriate filing officer, as defined under s.
16
5.02 (4v) (b) to (d), but not more than $2,500.
SB1153,8
17
Section
8
.
11.1101 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB1153,5,22
18
11.1101
(4)

Other persons.
A person, other than a person subject to sub. (1),
19
(2), or (3) or s. 11.1112, may contribute to a
political party or legislative campaign
20
committee no more than $12,000 in any calendar year, and to a
candidate
21
committee no more than the following amounts specified for the candidate whose
22
nomination or election the committee supports:
SB1153,5,23
23
(a) Candidates for governor,
$86,000

$43,000
.
SB1153,6,1
1
(b) Candidates for lieutenant governor,
$26,000

$13,000
.
SB1153,6,2
2
(c) Candidates for attorney general,
$44,000

$22,000
.
SB1153,6,4
3
(d) Candidates for secretary of state, state treasurer, state superintendent, or
4
justice,
$18,000

$9,000
.
SB1153,6,5
5
(e) Candidates for state senator,
$2,000

$1,000
.
SB1153,6,6
6
(f) Candidates for representative to the assembly,
$1,000

$500
.
SB1153,6,8
7
(g) Candidates for court of appeals judge in districts that contain a county
8
having a population of more than 750,000,
$6,000

$3,000
.
SB1153,6,9
9
(h) Candidates for court of appeals judge in other districts,
$5,000

$2,500
.
SB1153,6,12
10
(i) Candidates for circuit judge in circuits having a population of more than
11
300,000, or candidates for district attorney in prosecutorial units having a
12
population of more than 300,000,
$6,000

$3,000
.
SB1153,6,14
13
(j) Candidates for circuit judge in other circuits or candidates for district
14
attorney in other prosecutorial units,
$2,000

$1,000
.
SB1153,6,16
15
(k) Candidates for local offices, an amount equal to the greater of the
16
following:
SB1153,6,17
17
1.
Four

Two
hundred dollars.
SB1153,6,21
18
2.
Two cents

One cent
times the number of inhabitants of the jurisdiction or
19
district, according to the latest federal census or the census information on which
20
the district is based, as certified by the appropriate filing officer, but not more than
21
$5,000

$2,500
.
SB1153,9
22
Section

9
.
11.1101 (4) (k) 2. of the statutes, as affected by 2023 Wisconsin
1
Act 126 and
2025 Wisconsin Acts
7, section

2, and .... (this act), is repealed and
2
recreated to read:

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