HF 1879

1st Engrossment - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to campaign finance; changing certain
reporting requirements; redefining inactivity;
requiring assumption of certain liabilities; changing
certain limits; changing public subsidy distribution
requirements; changing certain definitions,
procedures, and requirements; amending Minnesota
Statutes 2004, sections 10A.01, subdivisions 9, 11;
10A.20, subdivisions 2, 5, by adding a subdivision;
10A.24, subdivision 2; 10A.242, subdivision 2; 10A.25,
subdivision 2; 10A.31, subdivisions 6, 7; 10A.323;
211B.15, subdivisions 1, 17.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 10A.01,
subdivision 9, is amended to read:

Subd. 9.

Campaign expenditure.

new text begin (a) new text end "Campaign
expenditure" or "expenditure" means a purchase or payment of
money or anything of value, or an advance of credit, made or
incurred for the purpose of influencing the nomination or
election of a candidate or for the purpose of promoting or
defeating a ballot question.

new text begin (b) new text end An expenditure is considered to be made in the year in
which the candidate made the purchase of goods or services or
incurred an obligation to pay for goods or services.

new text begin (c) new text end An expenditure made for the purpose of defeating a
candidate is considered made for the purpose of influencing the
nomination or election of that candidate or any opponent of that
candidate.

new text begin (d) new text end Except as provided in clause (1), "expenditure"
includes the dollar value of a donation in kind.

"Expenditure" does not include:

(1) noncampaign disbursements as defined in subdivision 26;

(2) services provided without compensation by an individual
volunteering personal time on behalf of a candidate, ballot
question, political committee, political fund, principal
campaign committee, or party unit; deleted text begin or
deleted text end

(3) the publishing or broadcasting of news items or
editorial comments by the news media new text begin ; or
new text end

new text begin (4) the cost of a communication on any subject by a
corporation intended for its shareholders or executive or
administrative personnel, by a membership association intended
for its members or the members' executive or administrative
personnel, or by a labor organization intended for its members
or executive or administrative personnel or their families new text end .

new text begin (e) For purposes of this subdivision and subdivision 11,
the following terms have the meanings given them.
new text end

new text begin (1) "Executive or administrative personnel" means
individuals employed by a corporation, membership association,
or labor organization who are paid on a salary rather than an
hourly basis and who have policymaking, managerial,
professional, or supervisory responsibilities.
new text end

new text begin (2) "Labor organization" means any organization of any
kind, or any agency or employee representative committee or
plan, in which employees participate and that exists for the
purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers
concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay,
hours of employment, or conditions of work.
new text end

new text begin (3) "Members" means all persons who are currently
satisfying the requirements for membership in a membership
association, affirmatively accept the membership association's
invitation to become a member, and either:
new text end

new text begin (i) have some significant financial attachment to the
membership association, such as a significant investment or
ownership state, but not merely the payment of dues;
new text end

new text begin (ii) are required to pay on a regular basis a specific
amount of dues that is predetermined by the association and are
entitled to vote directly either for at least one member who has
full participatory and voting rights on the highest governing
body of the membership association, or for those who select at
least one member of those on the highest governing body of the
membership association; or
new text end

new text begin (iii) are entitled to vote directly for all of those on the
highest governing body of the membership association.
new text end

new text begin (4) "Membership association" means a membership
organization; trade association; cooperative; corporation
without capital shares; or local, national, or international
labor organization that expressly:
new text end

new text begin (i) provides for members in its articles and bylaws;
new text end

new text begin (ii) solicits members; and
new text end

new text begin (iii) acknowledges the acceptance of membership, such as by
sending a membership card or inclusion on a membership
newsletter list.
new text end

new text begin (5) "Shareholder" means a person who has a vested
beneficial interest in one or more shares, has the power to
direct how those shares are voted if they are voting shares, and
has the right to receive dividends.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 10A.01,
subdivision 11, is amended to read:

Subd. 11.

Contribution.

(a) "Contribution" means money,
a negotiable instrument, or a donation in kind that is given to
a political committee, political fund, principal campaign
committee, or party unit.

(b) "Contribution" includes a loan or advance of credit to
a political committee, political fund, principal campaign
committee, or party unit, if the loan or advance of credit is:
(1) forgiven; or (2) repaid by an individual or an association
other than the political committee, political fund, principal
campaign committee, or party unit to which the loan or advance
of credit was made. If an advance of credit or a loan is
forgiven or repaid as provided in this paragraph, it is a
contribution in the year in which the loan or advance of credit
was made.

(c) "Contribution" does not include services provided
without compensation by an individual volunteering personal time
on behalf of a candidate, ballot question, political committee,
political fund, principal campaign committee, or party unit, or
the publishing or broadcasting of news items or editorial
comments by the news media.

new text begin (d) "Contribution" does not include the cost of a
communication on any subject by a corporation intended for its
shareholders or executive or administrative personnel, by a
membership association intended for its members or the members'
executive or administrative personnel, or by a labor
organization intended for its members or executive or
administrative personnel or their families, as defined in
subdivision 9.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 10A.20, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:

new text begin Subd. 1b. new text end

new text begin Electronic filing. new text end

new text begin A political party unit,
political committee, or political fund that has raised or spent
more than $15,000 must file the periodical reports required by
this section electronically. An electronically filed report
generated by software other than that provided by the board must
have its receipts and expenditure data in a format specified by
the board.
new text end

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 10A.20,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Time for filing.

(a) The reports must be filed
with the board on or before January 31 of each year and
additional reports must be filed as required and in accordance
with paragraphs (b) and (c).

(b) In each year in which the name of the candidate is on
the ballot, the report of the principal campaign committee must
be filed 15 days before a primary and ten days before a general
election new text begin in which the candidate's name appears on the ballot new text end ,
seven days before a special primary and a special election new text begin in
which the candidate's name appears on the ballot new text end , and ten days
after a special election cycle.

(c) In each general election year, a political committee,
political fund, or party unit must file reports 15 days before a
primary and ten days before a general election.

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 10A.20,
subdivision 5, is amended to read:

Subd. 5.

Preelection reports.

deleted text begin In a statewide election
deleted text end Any loan, contribution, or contributions from any one source
totaling deleted text begin $2,000 or more deleted text end new text begin $1,500 or more to a candidate for
governor or supreme court justice, $750 or more to a candidate
for attorney general or appeals court judge, or $400 or more for
a candidate for secretary of state, state auditor new text end , deleted text begin or in any
judicial deleted text end district new text begin judge, new text end or deleted text begin legislative election totaling more
than $400 deleted text end new text begin state legislator new text end , received between the last day
covered in the last report before an election and the election
must be reported to the board in one of the following ways:

(1) in person within 48 hours after its receipt;

(2) by telegram or mailgram within 48 hours after its
receipt; or

(3) by certified mail sent within 48 hours after its
receipt.

These loans and contributions must also be reported in the
next required report.

The 48-hour notice requirement does not apply with respect
to a primary in which the statewide or legislative candidate is
unopposed.

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 10A.24,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Termination allowed.

Notwithstanding
subdivision 1, a committee, fund, or party unit that has debts
incurred more than six years previously, has disposed of all its
assets, and has met the requirements of section 10A.20,
subdivision 7, may notify any remaining creditors by certified
mail and then file a termination report.

new text begin A candidate who terminates a committee and within four
years registers a new committee for the same office must assume
any unpaid liabilities of the previous committee and
continuously report the obligations until they are paid or
forgiven.
new text end

Sec. 7.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 10A.242,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Inactivity defined.

(a) A principal campaign
committee becomes inactive on the later of the following dates:

(1) when deleted text begin six deleted text end new text begin four new text end years new text begin or in the case of candidates for
judicial offices, six years, new text end have elapsed since the last
election in which the person was a candidate for the office
sought or held at the time the principal campaign committee
registered with the board; or

(2) when deleted text begin six deleted text end new text begin four new text end years new text begin or in the case of candidates for
judicial offices, six years, new text end have elapsed since the last day on
which the individual for whom it exists served in an elective
office subject to this chapter.

(b) A political committee or fund becomes inactive when two
years have elapsed since the end of a reporting period during
which the political committee or fund made an expenditure or
disbursement requiring disclosure under this chapter.

Sec. 8.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 10A.25,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Amounts.

(a) In a year in which an election is
held for an office sought by a candidate, the principal campaign
committee of the candidate must not make campaign
expenditures deleted text begin nor deleted text end new text begin or new text end permit approved expenditures to be made on
behalf of the candidate that result in aggregate expenditures in
excess of the following:

(1) for governor and lieutenant governor, running together,
$2,188,090;

(2) for attorney general, $364,690;

(3) for secretary of state and state auditor, separately,
$182,350;

(4) for state senator, $54,740; new text begin or
new text end

(5) for state representative, $28,400.

(b) In addition to the amount in paragraph (a), clause (1),
a candidate for endorsement for the office of lieutenant
governor at the convention of a political party may make
campaign expenditures and approved expenditures of five percent
of that amount to seek endorsement.

(c) If a special election cycle occurs during a general
election cycle, expenditures by or on behalf of a candidate in
the special election do not count as expenditures by or on
behalf of the candidate in the general election.

(d) The expenditure limits in this subdivision for an
office are increased by ten percent for a candidate who is
running for that office for the first time and who has not new text begin ,
during the previous ten years, new text end run deleted text begin previously deleted text end for any other
office whose territory now includes a population that is more
than one-third of the population in the territory of the new
office.

Sec. 9.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 10A.31,
subdivision 6, is amended to read:

Subd. 6.

Distribution of party accounts.

As soon as the
board has obtained from the secretary of state the results of
the primary election, but no later than one week after
certification by the State Canvassing Board of the results of
the primary, the board must distribute the available money in
each party account, as certified by the commissioner of revenue
on September 1, to the candidates of that party who have signed
a spending limit agreement under section 10A.322 new text begin , filed the
preprimary report of receipts and expenditures required by
section 10A.20, new text end and filed the affidavit of contributions
required by section 10A.323, who were opposed in either the
primary election or the general election, and whose names are to
appear on the ballot in the general election, according to the
allocations set forth in subdivisions 5 and 5a. The public
subsidy from the party account may not be paid in an amount
greater than the expenditure limit of the candidate or the
expenditure limit that would have applied to the candidate if
the candidate had not been freed from expenditure limits under
section 10A.25, subdivision 10. deleted text begin If a candidate files the
affidavit required by section 10A.323 after September 1 of the
general election year, the board must pay the candidate's
allocation to the candidate at the next regular payment date for
public subsidies for that election cycle that occurs at least 15
days after the candidate files the affidavit.
deleted text end

Sec. 10.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 10A.31,
subdivision 7, is amended to read:

Subd. 7.

Distribution of general account.

(a) As soon as
the board has obtained the results of the primary election from
the secretary of state, but no later than one week after
certification of the primary results by the State Canvassing
Board, the board must distribute the available money in the
general account, as certified by the commissioner of revenue on
September 1 and according to allocations set forth in
subdivision 5, in equal amounts to all candidates of a major
political party whose names are to appear on the ballot in the
general election and who:

(1) have signed a spending limit agreement under section
10A.322;

(2) new text begin have filed the preprimary report of receipts and
expenditures required by section 10A.20;
new text end

new text begin (3) new text end have filed the affidavit of contributions required by
section 10A.323; and

deleted text begin (3) deleted text end new text begin (4) new text end were opposed in either the primary election or the
general election.

(b) The public subsidy under this subdivision may not be
paid in an amount that would cause the sum of the public subsidy
paid from the party account plus the public subsidy paid from
the general account to exceed 50 percent of the expenditure
limit for the candidate or 50 percent of the expenditure limit
that would have applied to the candidate if the candidate had
not been freed from expenditure limits under section 10A.25,
subdivision 10. Money from the general account not paid to a
candidate because of the 50 percent limit must be distributed
equally among all other qualifying candidates for the same
office until all have reached the 50 percent limit or the
balance in the general account is exhausted.

(c) A candidate must expend or become obligated to expend
at least an amount equal to 50 percent of the money distributed
by the board under this subdivision no later than the end of the
final reporting period preceding the general election.
Otherwise, the candidate must repay to the board the difference
between the amount the candidate spent or became obligated to
spend by the deadline and the amount distributed to the
candidate under this subdivision. The candidate must make the
repayment no later than six months following the general
election. The candidate must reimburse the board for all
reasonable costs, including litigation costs, incurred in
collecting any amount due.

If the board determines that a candidate has failed to
repay money as required by this paragraph, the board may not
distribute any additional money to the candidate until the
entirety of the repayment has been made.

Sec. 11.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 10A.323, is
amended to read:

10A.323 AFFIDAVIT OF CONTRIBUTIONS.

In addition to the requirements of section 10A.322, to be
eligible to receive a public subsidy under section 10A.31 a
candidate or the candidate's treasurer must file deleted text begin an deleted text end new text begin a signed and
notarized new text end affidavit with the board stating that during that
calendar year the candidate has accumulated contributions from
persons eligible to vote in this state in at least the amount
indicated for the office sought, counting only the first $50
received from each contributor:

(1) candidates for governor and lieutenant governor running
together, $35,000;

(2) candidates for attorney general, $15,000;

(3) candidates for secretary of state and state auditor,
separately, $6,000;

(4) candidates for the senate, $3,000; and

(5) candidates for the house of representatives, $1,500.

The affidavit must state the total amount of contributions
that have been received from persons eligible to vote in this
state, disregarding the portion of any contribution in excess of
$50.

The candidate or the candidate's treasurer must submit the
affidavit required by this section to the board in writing by
deleted text begin September 1 of deleted text end new text begin the date the preprimary report of receipts and
expenditures is required to be filed under section 10A.20,
subdivision 2, in new text end the general election year.

A candidate for a vacancy to be filled at a special
election for which the filing period does not coincide with the
filing period for the general election must submit the affidavit
required by this section to the board within five days after
filing the affidavit of candidacy. new text begin For purposes of this
section, a candidate in a special election for the house of
representatives must raise at least $500 and a candidate in a
special election for the senate must raise at least $1,000.
new text end

Sec. 12.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 211B.15,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Definitions.

deleted text begin For purposes of deleted text end new text begin (a) The
definitions in this subdivision apply to new text end this section deleted text begin , deleted text end new text begin .
new text end

new text begin (b) "Contribution" has the meaning given in section 10A.01,
subdivision 11.
new text end

new text begin (c) new text end "Corporation" means:

(1) a corporation organized for profit that does business
in this state;

(2) a nonprofit corporation that carries out activities in
this state; or

(3) a limited liability company formed under chapter 322B,
or under similar laws of another state, that does business in
this state.

new text begin (d) "Expenditure" has the meaning given in section 10A.01,
subdivision 9.
new text end

new text begin (e) "Political office" means an elective office of the
state or a political subdivision, but does not include the
office of president of the United States or the office of
senator or representative in Congress.
new text end

Sec. 13.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 211B.15,
subdivision 17, is amended to read:

Subd. 17.

deleted text begin nonprofit corporation political
activity deleted text end new text begin administrative support new text end .

It is not a violation of this
section for a nonprofit corporation to provide administrative
assistance to one political committee or political fund that is
associated with the nonprofit corporation and registered with
the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board under section
10A.14. deleted text begin Such deleted text end new text begin Administrative new text end assistance deleted text begin must be limited to
deleted text end new text begin includes new text end accounting, clerical or legal services, bank charges,
utilities, office space, deleted text begin and deleted text end supplies new text begin , and the expenses of
soliciting donations to the political committee or political
fund new text end . The records of the political committee or political fund
may be kept on the premises of the nonprofit corporation.

deleted text begin The administrative assistance provided by the nonprofit
corporation to the political committee or political fund is
limited annually to the lesser of $5,000 or 7-1/2 percent of the
expenditures of the political committee or political fund.
deleted text end