HF 1689

as introduced - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 02/13/2023 01:07pm

A bill for an act
relating to campaign finance; providing certain record-keeping and reporting
requirements related to political advertisements; requiring the Campaign Finance
and Public Disclosure Board to provide public access to certain reports, including
copies of campaign advertisements; amending requirements related to the display
of a disclaimer on campaign material; amending Minnesota Statutes 2022, section
211B.04, subdivisions 1, 2, by adding subdivisions; proposing coding for new law
in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 10A.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [10A.205] CAMPAIGN MATERIAL; RECORD-KEEPING AND
REPORTS.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Definitions. new text end

new text begin For purposes of this section:
new text end

new text begin (1) "advertiser" means a person who is responsible for the content of a qualified political
advertisement and directs the funds used to purchase dissemination of a qualified political
advertisement, regardless of whether the advertiser is assisted by an agent or other person
to create the advertisement or purchase placement of the advertisement;
new text end

new text begin (2) "Internet platform" means any public-facing website, Internet-enabled application,
or other digital application that displays, or causes to be displayed, political advertisements
and receives more than $1,000 in aggregate revenue from displaying, or causing to be
displayed, political advertisements in a calendar year; and
new text end

new text begin (3) "political advertisement" means any print, audio, broadcast, Internet, or digital
communication that the disclaimer requirements of section 211B.04 apply to.
new text end

new text begin For purposes of this section, an advertiser may treat multiple versions of an advertisement
that contain no material differences, including versions that differ only because they contain
a recipient's name or differ only in size, color, font, or layout, as a single political
advertisement.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Accessible archive required. new text end

new text begin Not later than January 1, 2024, the board shall
maintain and make available on the Internet in a standardized, machine-readable, searchable,
sortable, downloadable, and publicly accessible format a complete record of the information
reported under this section. Public access to this record shall be expeditious and must include
search interface capabilities including but not limited to searches by candidate name, political
committee name, issue, purchaser, advertiser, and date.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Requirements for advertisers. new text end

new text begin An advertiser whose aggregate spending to
disseminate political advertisements during the calendar year exceed $500 must:
new text end

new text begin (1) file with the board electronic reports that contain the information required by this
section, consistent with any rules adopted by the board; and
new text end

new text begin (2) for Internet advertisements, inform the platform at the time it seeks to place a political
advertisement that the advertisement is a political advertisement subject to this section.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Requirements for Internet platforms. new text end

new text begin (a) An Internet platform must exercise
due diligence to provide such information to the advertiser that is timely, true, complete,
and accurate as is necessary for the advertiser to comply with the requirements of this section
including:
new text end

new text begin (1) the date on which the Internet platform first met the criteria described in subdivision
1;
new text end

new text begin (2) the information required to be reported under subdivision 5; and
new text end

new text begin (3) the timing requirements under subdivision 6.
new text end

new text begin (b) To the extent that any Internet platform displays advertisements that are sold directly
to advertisers through another Internet platform, the other Internet platform must also comply
with the disclosure obligations required by paragraph (a) that would otherwise be borne by
the displaying platform.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Contents of report. new text end

new text begin A report filed under subdivision 3 must contain:
new text end

new text begin (1) a digital copy of each political advertisement;
new text end

new text begin (2) if the advertisement was disseminated by broadcast or an Internet platform, the
identity of the broadcast station or Internet platform on which the advertisement was
disseminated to the extent that the cost to disseminate the advertisement during the calendar
year exceeds $100; and
new text end

new text begin (3) information describing:
new text end

new text begin (i) the amount paid to disseminate the advertisement;
new text end

new text begin (ii) the dates on which the advertisement was sent, broadcast, displayed, or contracted
to be displayed;
new text end

new text begin (iii) the demographic or geographic audience, if any, targeted by the advertisement;
new text end

new text begin (iv) the number of people to whom the advertisement was disseminated directly or to
whom the advertisement is expected to be disseminated;
new text end

new text begin (v) the name of the candidate to whom the advertisement refers and the office to which
the candidate is seeking election or the election to which the advertisement refers, as
applicable;
new text end

new text begin (vi) the top three donors responsible for paying for the advertisement;
new text end

new text begin (vii) in the case of an advertiser who is a candidate, the name of the candidate, the
authorized committee of the candidate, and the treasurer of such committee;
new text end

new text begin (viii) in the case of an advertiser who is a political committee, the name of the political
committee and the treasurer of such committee; and
new text end

new text begin (ix) in the case of any advertiser not described in item (vii) or (viii), the name of the
advertiser; the name, address, and phone number of a contact person for such person; and
a list of the chief executive officers or members of the executive committee or of the board
of directors of such person.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Timing of reports. new text end

new text begin (a) An advertiser whose aggregate spending to disseminate
political advertisements during the calendar year exceed $500 shall file a report containing
the information required under this section within 48 hours of becoming obligated to
purchases that exceed that threshold.
new text end

new text begin (b) After an advertiser files a report under paragraph (a), the advertiser shall file an
additional report within 48 hours of each time the advertiser becomes obligated to make
purchases of an additional $500 of political advertisements.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 211B.04, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Campaign material.

(a) A person who participates in the preparation or
dissemination of campaign material other than as provided in section 211B.05, subdivision
1, that does not deleted text begin prominently deleted text end new text begin clearly and conspicuously new text end include the name and address of the
person or committee causing the material to be prepared or disseminated in a disclaimer
substantially in the form provided in paragraph (b) or (c) is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(b) Except in cases covered by paragraph (c), the required form of disclaimer is: "Prepared
and paid for by the ....... committee, ....... (address)" for material prepared and paid for by
a principal campaign committee, or "Prepared and paid for by the ....... committee, .......
(address)" for material prepared and paid for by a person or committee other than a principal
campaign committee. The address must be either the committee's mailing address or the
committee's website, if the website includes the committee's mailing address. If the material
is produced and disseminated without cost, the words "paid for" may be omitted from the
disclaimer.

(c) In the case of broadcast media, the required form of disclaimer is: "Paid for by the
....... committee." If the material is produced and broadcast without cost, the required form
of the disclaimer is: "The ....... committee is responsible for the content of this message."

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 211B.04, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Independent expenditures.

(a) The required form of the new text begin clear and conspicuous
new text end disclaimer on a written independent expenditure is: "This is an independent expenditure
prepared and paid for by ....... (name of entity participating in the expenditure), ....... (address).
It is not coordinated with or approved by any candidate nor is any candidate responsible
for it." The address must be either the entity's mailing address or the entity's website, if the
website includes the entity's mailing address. When a written independent expenditure is
produced and disseminated without cost, the words "and paid for" may be omitted from the
disclaimer.

(b) The required form of the new text begin clear and conspicuous new text end disclaimer on a broadcast independent
expenditure is: "This independent expenditure is paid for by ....... (name of entity participating
in the expenditure). It is not coordinated with or approved by any candidate nor is any
candidate responsible for it." When a broadcast independent expenditure is produced and
disseminated without cost, the following disclaimer may be used: "....... (name of entity
participating in the expenditure) is responsible for the contents of this independent
expenditure. It is not coordinated with or approved by any candidate nor is any candidate
responsible for it."

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 211B.04, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

new text begin Subd. 2a. new text end

new text begin Internet and digital communications. new text end

new text begin In the case of Internet-based or digital
campaign material distributed through a medium in which the provision of all of the
information specified in this section is not technologically possible, the communication
shall, in a clear and conspicuous manner: (1) state the name of the person who paid for the
communication; and (2) provide a means for the recipient of the communication to
immediately obtain the remainder of the information required under this section with minimal
effort and without receiving or viewing any additional material other than the required
information.
new text end

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 211B.04, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

new text begin Subd. 2b. new text end

new text begin Clear and conspicuous display of disclaimer. new text end

new text begin (a) For purposes of this section,
a disclaimer is not clear and conspicuous if it is difficult to read or hear or if the placement
is easily overlooked.
new text end

new text begin (b) A disclaimer is presumed to be made in a clear and conspicuous manner if the
disclaimer meets any of the applicable following requirements:
new text end

new text begin (1) in the case of a text or graphic communication, the disclaimer (i) appears in letters
at least as large as the majority of the text in the campaign material; (ii) is contained in a
printed box set apart from the other contents of the communication; and (iii) is printed with
a reasonable degree of color contrast between the background and the printed statement;
new text end

new text begin (2) in the case of an audio communication, the disclaimer is spoken in a clearly audible
and intelligible manner at the beginning or end of the communications that lasts at least
four seconds;
new text end

new text begin (3) in the case of a video communication that also includes audio, the disclaimer (i) is
included at either the beginning or the end of the communication, and (ii) is made both in
a written format that meets the requirements of clause (1) and appears for at least four
seconds, and in an audible format that meets the requirements of clause (2), provided that
in the case of a video communication that is shorter than ten seconds, the audible portion
of the disclaimer may be omitted; or
new text end

new text begin (4) in the case of any other type of communication, the statement is at least as clear and
conspicuous as the statement specified in clause (1), (2), or (3).
new text end