Senate Bill 520 aims to explicitly prohibit foreign nationals from making contributions to referendum committees in Wisconsin. The bill amends current law by renumbering the existing statute 11.1208 (4) to 11.1208 (4) (a) and creating a new subsection, 11.1208 (4) (b), which states that no foreign national may contribute to a referendum committee, and no referendum committee may accept contributions from foreign nationals. This legislative change is a response to a recent Federal Election Commission decision that allowed foreign contributions to ballot initiative committees, which the FEC determined were not considered elections under federal law.

The bill reinforces the existing prohibition against foreign contributions in connection with federal, state, or local elections, thereby closing a looph that could potentially allow foreign influence in local referendum processes. By clearly defining the restrictions on contributions from foreign nationals, the bill seeks to uphold the integrity of the electoral process in Wisconsin.