Wisconsin Senate Bill SB899

Wisconsin 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/27/26
• Refer: 1/27/26
• Failed: 3/23/26

Caption

An Act to renumber 11.1208 (4); to create 11.0101 (14m), 11.0101 (26m), 11.0606, 11.0803 (1) (e), 11.0805 and 11.1208 (4) (b) of the statutes; Relating to: expressly prohibiting a foreign national from making a contribution to a referendum committee.

Summary

SB 899 would amend Wisconsin campaign finance law to expressly prohibit foreign nationals from contributing to referendum committees and from influencing referendum-related decision-making. The bill also bars referendum committees from receiving, soliciting, or accepting contributions from foreign nationals, and it extends the prohibition to foreign nationals directing or participating in decisions about supporting or opposing a referendum or influencing a referendum vote. The bill adds new definitions for “foreign national” and “preliminary activity,” and it creates new reporting and affirmation requirements for referendum committees and independent expenditure committees involved in referendum advocacy. These committees, and their sponsoring organizations, would have to obtain written affirmations from contributors that they are not foreign nationals and have not recently accepted more than $100,000 in foreign-national funds, and they would have to attest to those affirmations in reports filed with the Ethics Commission. Referendum committees would also have to certify that any pre-registration preliminary activity was not funded directly or indirectly by foreign nationals.

Impact

If enacted, SB 899 would create new statutory restrictions in Wisconsin’s ethics and election law chapters governing referendum committees and independent expenditure committees. It would add explicit prohibitions on foreign-national funding and involvement in referendum advocacy, impose new disclosure and certification obligations, and expand the compliance duties of committees and sponsoring organizations that participate in ballot measure campaigns. The bill would also renumber an existing provision and create new sections in chapters 11.0101, 11.0606, 11.0803, 11.0805, and 11.1208 of the statutes.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been framed as a response to a 2024 Federal Election Commission decision that allowed foreign-national contributions to ballot initiative committees under federal law, suggesting a policy concern about foreign influence in Wisconsin referenda. No committee transcript or recorded vote information is provided, and the bill ultimately failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1. Based on the bill text alone, the measure seems aimed at tightening election integrity rules, with support likely centered on preventing foreign influence and opposition likely focused on the added compliance burden and the breadth of the restrictions.

Contention

The main point of contention is the scope of the foreign-national ban and the compliance framework it creates. Supporters would likely emphasize the need to close a perceived loophole in federal law and prevent foreign money or influence in referendum campaigns. Potential critics may question the practical enforceability of the $100,000 foreign-funds threshold, the burden of obtaining contributor affirmations, and the reach of the prohibition into indirect participation and preliminary campaign activity before formal registration. The bill’s treatment of independent expenditure committees and sponsoring organizations may also raise concerns for groups involved in ballot issue advocacy.