MADISON, Wis. (WSAU) — Wisconsin Democrats are repeating almost daily their demand that Governor Scott Walker reimburse the state of Wisconsin for security detail costs during his recently-suspended presidential campaign.
Assistant Minority Leader Katrina Shankland says it’s time to immediately reimburse taxpayers for the travel and security costs from the campaign. The Department of Administration is checking into what reimbursements may have been made so far, if any.
Shankland is hoping for fast answers. “We still, as of today, don’t have full confirmation as to the full scope as to the cost of his campaign to the state taxpayer, and how much, like what percentage has he reimbursed?”
The Stevens Point Democrat cites reports where $138,000 may have been spent for Governor Walker’s trip to London, which she believes was used to gain foreign policy background for his presidential campaign. Shankland also says we still don’t know how much his trips to France, Germany, Spain, Israel, and Canada cost taxpayers. Several of those trips were trade missions, but Democrats question how much of the trip was government business and how much was campaign preparation.
Shankland says, “We also don’t know how much Governor Walker’s countless trips across the country for fundraising and campaign-related activities cost, and whether taxpayers were reimbursed.” She favors having a better mechanism to separate state business, personal, and campaign expenses.
Shankland authored legislation that would require full disclosure and expense reporting deadlines with daily penalties for state officials running for national office using state resources. A companion bill has been introduced in the Senate from State Senator Dave Hansen. Several Democrats have signed on to Shankland’s bill. So far, there’s no indication the new bill has been assigned to committee or scheduled for a hearing in the Republican controlled Legislature.
The proposed bill includes deadlines and penalties. Shankland says the legislation calls for any state official running for federal office to disclose all of their travel itineraries to the state while they’re running for federal office, and all details about the costs involved. “That includes both government and campaign travel, and within 30 days, not only would they be required to disclose all of those expenses and where they went, but also they’d be required to reimburse the state within that 30 days for the cost of travel and security for their campaign.”
This is a new issue here in Wisconsin with no real precedent , since Walker is the first sitting Wisconsin Governor to seek national office.
(Listen to our interview with Representative Katrina Shankland at our website, here.)