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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
This Index
Statements
of Economic Interests
This
Index
What information is
contained in this
index?
This index contains
information provided by state officials in their
Statements of Economic Interests. It includes employers; businesses; real estate; customers, clients, and
tenants; partners; sources of honoraria and expenses; other sources of income;
securities; officer and directorships; represented
organizations; and creditors identified by state officials.
It does not identify individuals giving
gifts to officials. The parenthetical numbers next to an
interest show how many officials within an agency have identified that
interest.
What
time period am I
looking at?
Most currently filed
information:
Since officials file at
different times, and because it takes time for Government Accountability Board
staff to enter data, the data you will see may derive from
both the current year’s filing for some officials and the
prior year’s filing for others.
Information by year:
Viewing the Index by a
specific year will show you information from all Statements
of Economic Interests filed at any time during that year.
The information will pertain to an official’s financial
interests for the preceding year.
Why can’t I view an
official’s complete
Statement of Economic Interests on-line?
Wisconsin Statutes
[§§19.48(8) and
19.55(1)] require the Government Accountability Board to obtain the identity of
any person examining a Statement of Economic Interests and
to notify each official of the identity of a person
examining the filer’s Statement.
Statements of Economic Interests
Who must file a
Statement of Economic Interests?
The governor; other
officials chosen in statewide elections; legislators;
members of state commissions and part-time boards that
direct state agencies; members of the examining boards that
regulate trades and professions; members and key officials
of the district boards of the state's vocational, technical,
and adult education schools; key salaried officials in
state government; judges; district attorneys; and certain
other officials identified by statute must file a Statement
of Economic Interests. (For a detailed list of those
positions whose occupants file a Statement of Economic
Interests, refer to Government Accountability Board publication #402.) In
addition, candidates for state public office must file a
Statement of Economic Interests.
When must Statements
be filed?
-
State
officials must file within 21 days of assuming office.
-
Nominees must
file within 21 days of nomination or appointment.
-
Candidates
must file within 3 days of the Election Board's deadline for
filing nomination papers.
-
State
officials update their Statements annually on or before
April 30, reporting their economic interests for the
preceding calendar year.
What information must
be identified?
State officials and
candidates and nominees for public offices are required to
identify, for the year preceding the filing:
EMPLOYERS
Any employer from which the
person required to file or a member of his or her immediate
family received income of $1,000 or more.
BUSINESSES
AND PARTNERS
Any partnership,
corporation, proprietorship, firm, franchise, or other
business or enterprise in which the person required to file
or a member of his or her immediate family owned a 10% or
greater interest and the general partners of such
partnerships.
REAL ESTATE
Any real estate located in
Wisconsin in which the person required to file or a member
of his or her immediate family held, directly or indirectly,
a 10% or greater interest valued at $5,000 or more,
excluding the person's principal residence.
CUSTOMERS, CLIENTS, AND
TENANTS
Any source from which the
businesses and real estate of the person required to file or
members of his or her immediate family received $1,000 or
more of payments, excluding (a) a corporation's sources of
income unless the corporation is a service corporation or an
"S" corporation under the Internal Revenue Code, (b) a
business's sources of income if the family's share of the
business's gross proceeds was less than $1,000, (c) an
individual unless the individual was a lobbyist, and (d) a
decedent's estate.
GIFTS
Any individual or
organization from which the person required to file received
entertainment or gifts having a total value over $50,
excluding gifts from relatives.
HONORARIA AND EXPENSES
Any individual or
organization from which the person required to file received
lodging, transportation, meals, expenses, or honoraria
having a value over $50, for the presentation of a talk,
participation in a meeting, or a published work about
issues initiated by or affecting state government or state
agencies.
OTHER SOURCES OF INCOME
Any source not elsewhere
identified on the Statement from which the person required
to file or a member of his or her immediate family received
income of $1,000 or more during the preceding year,
including honoraria not elsewhere reported, Social Security
payments, retirement benefits, directors' fees, commissions,
and proceeds from the sale of real estate.
SECURITIES
Any business, organization,
or Wisconsin governmental entity in which the person
required to file or a member of his or her immediate family
owned securities, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds,
money market funds, limited partnerships, and commodity
futures contracts, valued at $5,000 or more.
OFFICES AND DIRECTORSHIPS
Any business or organization
(other than a charitable, political, non-profit social or
community service organization; trust; or federal, state,
or local government or governmental agency) in which the
person required to file or a member of his or her immediate
family was an officer or director.
REPRESENTATIONS OF
ORGANIZATIONS
Any business or organization
(other than a charitable, political, non-profit social or
community service organization; trust; or federal, state,
or local government or governmental agency) of which the
person required to file or a member of his or her immediate
family was an authorized representative or legal agent.
CREDITORS
Any creditor to whom the
person required to file or a member of his or her immediate
family owed $5,000 or more.
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