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(STATE CAPITOL) Two Democrats in the state legislators are pushing a new law aimed at controlling how much corporations spend on political campaigns. They say a new report comparing lobbying expenditures to corporate taxes highlights the need for reform.

The report released by the Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group or WISPIRG focuses on thirty wealthy corporations that spent $2 billion lobbying for a wide range of legislation, yet paid little if any corporate taxes. WISPIRG spokesman Bruce Speight says in most cases they paid no taxes, "Twenty-nine of the 30 so deftly exploited the tax loopholes in our tax code that they boasted negative tax rates meaning they are getting money back from our government."

Speight says efforts are underway in congress to close some of these tax loopholes but State Sen. Chris Larson of Milwaukee says while closing loopholes is important he's backing another approach to controlling the political clout of corporations. His proposal to prohibit corporations from contributing to candidates for state or local office unless they can show a majority of their share holders approve of that expenditure, "This Senate bill is common sense legislation that will give shareholders a voice in how their money, which could have been invested in their retirement or their children's education is being spent during Wisconsin's elections. This bill holds corporations accountable for their political advertisements and disbursements and pushes for corporate democracy."

A similar bill introduced last session failed to win support. But Larson says public anger over corporate political spending is growing and the bill has a better chance of passage this time around.