MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Republican Gov. Scott Walker on Wednesday signed a bill that eliminates Wisconsin's nonpartisan state elections board.
Rep. Dean Knudson, who sponsored the legislation, said in a tweet that he was present in Walker's office as Walker signed the bill privately. Walker's office didn't immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press.
The law does away with the Government Accountability Board, an agency run by retired nonpartisan judges to oversee elections and ethics laws. The board will be replaced with two commissions: one to oversee elections, the other ethics. Both new commissions will be made up of partisan appointees, although the ethics panel will have two retired judges.
It wasn't immediately clear whether Walker had signed another closely watched bill to loosen some campaign finance restrictions.
Minority Democrats and government watchdog groups have lamented both changes, saying they would open the door to corruption and make it more difficult for the public to see who is funding politicians.
The GAB had come in for special scorn from conservatives for participating in a so-called John Doe investigation into whether Walker's 2012 recall campaign illegally coordinated with outside groups on issue ads. They argued the GAB was nonpartisan only in name and cited critical audits of the board as justification for ending it.
Walker signed a separate bill last month that barred prosecutors from using the John Doe process to investigate political misconduct. Such investigations are similar to a grand jury investigation, in that information is tightly controlled and prosecutors can subpoena witnesses to testify as they weigh whether to pursue criminal charges.
