Green Bay Reporter

A new bill authored by State Rep. Amaad Rivera-Wagner in the Wisconsin Assembly seeks to modify election bribery laws to better regulate benefits influencing electors during election periods, according to the Wisconsin State Assembly.

According to the Wisconsin State Legislature's official website, the bill was described as follows: "inducements to sign or refrain from signing nomination papers, recall petitions, and certain other petitions".

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill modifies election bribery laws in Wisconsin by prohibiting offering or providing any benefit to influence an elector to sign or refrain from signing nomination papers, recall petitions, or other petitions related to candidates, referendums, or propositions about political or social issues. The bill specifies that this applies to petitions associated with elections or referendums circulated during defined "election periods." These periods include specific timeframes leading up to spring, general, special, and recall elections. The bill raises the threshold for defining "anything of value" from $1 to $5 for certain subsection purposes, aligning it with the broader election bribery definition of objects with independent utility. Election bribery remains a Class I felony, punishable by a fine up to $10,000, imprisonment for up to three years and six months, or both.

The bill was co-authored by Senator Chris Larson (Democrat-7th District), Representative Clinton M. Anderson (Democrat-45th District), Representative Margaret Arney (Democrat-18th District), Representative Mike Bare (Democrat-80th District), Representative Brienne Brown (Democrat-43rd District). It was co-sponsored by Senator Tim Carpenter (Democrat-3rd District), Senator Kristin Dassler-Alfheim (Democrat-18th District), and Senator Dora E. Drake (Democrat-4th District), along 24 other co-sponsors.

Amaad Rivera-Wagner has co-authored another 19 bills since the beginning of the 2025 session, with none of them being enacted.

River-Wagner graduated from Bentley University with a BS.

River-Wagner, a Democrat, was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 2025 to represent the state's 90th Assembly district, replacing previous state representative Kristina Shelton.

In Wisconsin, the legislative process starts when a senator, constituent, group, or agency proposes an idea for a bill. After drafting, the bill is introduced, numbered, and referred to a committee for review and public input. If approved, it moves through three readings and votes in both the Senate and Assembly. Once both chambers pass the same version, the bill goes to the governor, who can sign it, veto it, or let it become law without a signature. Only a small share of bills introduced each session ultimately become law. You can learn more about the Wisconsin legislative process here.

Bill Number	Date Introduced	Short Description
AB227	04/23/2025	Inducements to sign or refrain from signing nomination papers, recall petitions, and certain other petitions