HF 2972

as introduced - 87th Legislature (2011 - 2012) Posted on 03/27/2012 10:30am

A bill for an act
relating to government reform; requiring certain meetings to be open to the
public; adding requirements to lobbyists and principals related to model
legislation; adding requirements to principals and public officials related to
scholarship funds; establishing public campaign fund; increasing amount of
political contribution refund; appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes
2010, sections 3.055, subdivision 1; 10A.01, subdivisions 21, 33, by adding
subdivisions; 10A.04, subdivision 6; 10A.09, subdivision 5; 10A.30, subdivision
2; 290.06, subdivision 23; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
chapter 10A.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 3.055, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Meetings to be open.

new text begin (a) new text end Meetings of the legislature shall be open
to the public, including sessions of the senate, sessions of the house of representatives,
joint sessions of the senate and the house of representatives, and meetings of a standing
committee, committee division, subcommittee, conference committee, or legislative
commission, but not including a caucus of the members of any of those bodies from the
same house and political party nor a delegation of legislators representing a geographic
area or political subdivision. For purposes of this section, a meeting occurs when a quorum
is present and action is taken regarding a matter within the jurisdiction of the body.

new text begin (b) A meeting of a caucus of the members of the senate or house of representatives
or a committee, subcommittee, or division of the senate or house of representatives from
the same political party must be open to the public if the caucus consists of at least three
members, but the meeting may be closed to discuss matters listed in section 13D.05,
subdivision 2, paragraph (a), clause (1), or (b); or subdivision 3, paragraph (a). A caucus
of the Hennepin County, Ramsey County, or St. Louis County delegation must be open to
the public. For purposes of this paragraph, a meeting occurs when a quorum is present and
a matter within the jurisdiction of the body is discussed.
new text end

new text begin (c) In addition to the openness requirements imposed on conference committees by
paragraph (a), from the time a conference committee is appointed until it is disbanded,
any negotiations between senate and house of representatives members of the conference
committee or senate and house of representatives staff members related to the conference
committee or the bill referred to the conference committee must be open to the public.
new text end

new text begin (d) A meeting between the majority leader of the senate and the speaker of the house
to set budget targets or negotiate the state budget must be open to the public.
new text end

new text begin (e) A meeting with the governor to set budget targets or negotiate the state budget
must be open to the public if the meeting includes any of the following members of the
legislature:
new text end

new text begin (1) the majority leader of the senate;
new text end

new text begin (2) the speaker of the house;
new text end

new text begin (3) the minority leader of either the senate or house of representatives; or
new text end

new text begin (4) the chair of a standing committee or division of the senate or house of
representatives.
new text end

new text begin (f) new text end Each house shall provide by rule for posting notices of meetings, recording
proceedings, and making the recordings and votes available to the public.

new text begin (g) This subdivision does not apply to chance meetings, social gatherings, or other
gatherings at which only presentations are made to members of the legislature or members
of either body of the legislature or any legislative committee, subcommittee, or division if
no vote or other action, including the formal or informal polling of members, is taken.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 10A.01, subdivision 21, is amended to read:

Subd. 21.

Lobbyist.

(a) "Lobbyist" means an individual:

(1) engaged for pay or other consideration of more than $3,000 from all sources in
any year for the purpose of attempting to influence legislative or administrative action, or
the official action of a metropolitan governmental unit, by communicating or urging others
to communicate with public or local officials; deleted text begin or
deleted text end

(2) who spends more than $250, not including the individual's own traveling
expenses and membership dues, in any year for the purpose of attempting to influence
legislative or administrative action, or the official action of a metropolitan governmental
unit, by communicating or urging others to communicate with public or local officials deleted text begin . deleted text end new text begin ; or
new text end

new text begin (3) who attempts to influence legislative adoption of model legislation written or
distributed by a principal.
new text end

(b) "Lobbyist" does not include:

(1) a public official;

(2) an employee of the state, including an employee of any of the public higher
education systems;

(3) an elected local official;

(4) a nonelected local official or an employee of a political subdivision acting in
an official capacity, unless the nonelected official or employee of a political subdivision
spends more than 50 hours in any month attempting to influence legislative or
administrative action, or the official action of a metropolitan governmental unit other
than the political subdivision employing the official or employee, by communicating
or urging others to communicate with public or local officials, including time spent
monitoring legislative or administrative action, or the official action of a metropolitan
governmental unit, and related research, analysis, and compilation and dissemination of
information relating to legislative or administrative policy in this state, or to the policies of
metropolitan governmental units;

(5) a party or the party's representative appearing in a proceeding before a state
board, commission, or agency of the executive branch unless the board, commission,
or agency is taking administrative action;

(6) an individual while engaged in selling goods or services to be paid for by
public funds;

(7) a news medium or its employees or agents while engaged in the publishing or
broadcasting of news items, editorial comments, or paid advertisements which directly
or indirectly urge official action;

(8) a paid expert witness whose testimony is requested by the body before which the
witness is appearing, but only to the extent of preparing or delivering testimony; or

(9) a party or the party's representative appearing to present a claim to the legislature
and communicating to legislators only by the filing of a claim form and supporting
documents and by appearing at public hearings on the claim.

(c) An individual who volunteers personal time to work without pay or other
consideration on a lobbying campaign, and who does not spend more than the limit in
paragraph (a), clause (2), need not register as a lobbyist.

(d) An individual who provides administrative support to a lobbyist and whose salary
and administrative expenses attributable to lobbying activities are reported as lobbying
expenses by the lobbyist, but who does not communicate or urge others to communicate
with public or local officials, need not register as a lobbyist.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 10A.01, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 25a. new text end

new text begin Model legislation. new text end

new text begin "Model legislation" means legislation written or
distributed by a principal to public officials of more than one state.
new text end

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 10A.01, subdivision 33, is amended to read:

Subd. 33.

Principal.

"Principal" means an individual or association that:

(1) spends more than $500 in the aggregate in any calendar year to engage a lobbyist,
compensate a lobbyist, or authorize the expenditure of money by a lobbyist; deleted text begin or
deleted text end

(2) is not included in clause (1) and spends a total of at least $50,000 in any calendar
year on efforts to influence legislative action, administrative action, or the official action
of metropolitan governmental units, as described in section 10A.04, subdivision 6 deleted text begin . deleted text end new text begin ; or
new text end

new text begin (3) drafts, promotes, or distributes model legislation to any public official of this
state with the purpose of influencing a public official to introduce the legislation or vote in
favor of the legislation. Principal does not include the commission to which appointments
are made under section 3.251 or an association whose membership consists exclusively of
the states, state legislatures, or constitutional officers of the states.
new text end

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 10A.01, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 35a. new text end

new text begin Scholarship funds. new text end

new text begin "Scholarship funds" means money or other financial
support given by a principal to, or on behalf of, a public official to reimburse or pay for all
or part of the costs of attending a conference, meeting, or event where model legislation
will be presented, discussed, distributed, or made available.
new text end

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 10A.04, subdivision 6, is amended to read:

Subd. 6.

Principal reports.

(a) A principal must report to the board as required in
this subdivision by March 15 for the preceding calendar year.

(b) The principal must report the total amount, rounded to the nearest $20,000,
spent by the principal during the preceding calendar year to influence legislative action,
administrative action, and the official action of metropolitan governmental units.

(c) The principal must report under this subdivision a total amount that includes:

(1) all direct payments by the principal to lobbyists in this state;

(2) all expenditures for advertising, mailing, research, analysis, compilation and
dissemination of information, and public relations campaigns related to legislative action,
administrative action, or the official action of metropolitan governmental units in this
state; and

(3) all salaries and administrative expenses attributable to activities of the principal
relating to efforts to influence legislative action, administrative action, or the official
action of metropolitan governmental units in this state.

new text begin (d) A principal that grants scholarship funds for a public official to attend a
conference, meeting, or event must report:
new text end

new text begin (1) the names of all public officials that received scholarship funds for attendance
at the conference, meeting, or event; and
new text end

new text begin (2) the names of any entity or individuals who contributed money towards
scholarship funds. When possible, the report must identify the entities or individuals who
contributed to each recipient's scholarship.
new text end

Sec. 7.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 10A.09, subdivision 5, is amended to read:

Subd. 5.

Form.

A statement of economic interest required by this section must be
on a form prescribed by the board. The individual filing must provide the following
information:

(1) name, address, occupation, and principal place of business;

(2) the name of each associated business and the nature of that association;

(3) a listing of all real property within the state, excluding homestead property, in
which the individual holds: (i) a fee simple interest, a mortgage, a contract for deed as
buyer or seller, or an option to buy, whether direct or indirect, if the interest is valued
in excess of $2,500; or (ii) an option to buy, if the property has a fair market value
of $50,000 or more;

(4) a listing of all real property within the state in which a partnership of which the
individual is a member holds: (i) a fee simple interest, a mortgage, a contract for deed as
buyer or seller, or an option to buy, whether direct or indirect, if the individual's share of
the partnership interest is valued in excess of $2,500; or (ii) an option to buy, if the property
has a fair market value of $50,000 or more. A listing under clause (3) or (4) must indicate
the street address and the municipality or the section, township, range and approximate
acreage, whichever applies, and the county in which the property is located; deleted text begin and
deleted text end

(5) a listing of any investments, ownership, or interests in property connected with
pari-mutuel horse racing in the United States and Canada, including a racehorse, in which
the individual directly or indirectly holds a partial or full interest or an immediate family
member holds a partial or full interest deleted text begin . deleted text end new text begin ; and
new text end

new text begin (6) a listing of all scholarship funds received, or paid on the individual's behalf, the
amount of each scholarship, the granting entity, and the conference, meeting, or event for
which the scholarship funds were granted.
new text end

Sec. 8.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 10A.30, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Separate account.

Within the state elections campaign fund account there
must be maintained a separate political party account for the state committee and the
candidates of each political party deleted text begin and deleted text end new text begin , new text end a general account new text begin , and a public campaign account new text end .

Sec. 9.

new text begin [10A.312] PUBLIC CAMPAIGN FUND.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Public campaign money. new text end

new text begin (a) In each election year, a candidate who
signs an agreement under section 10A.322 and who files an affidavit with the board stating
that, between January 1 and the cutoff date for transactions included in the report of
receipts and expenditures due before the primary election, the candidate has accumulated
contributions from persons eligible to vote in this state in at least an amount equal to
$1,000, counting only the first $10 received from each contributor, shall receive a $10
match for each $10 contribution. The maximum match amount shall be as follows:
new text end

new text begin (1) $1,000, if the candidate is seeking the office of state representative;
new text end

new text begin (2) $2,500, if the candidate is seeking the office of state senate, secretary of state, or
state auditor;
new text end

new text begin (3) $10,000, if the candidate is seeking the office of attorney general; and
new text end

new text begin (4) $50,000, if the candidates are seeking the offices of governor and lieutenant
governor together.
new text end

new text begin (b) A candidate who signs an agreement under section 10A.322 and who files an
affidavit with the board stating that, between January 1 and the cutoff date for transactions
included in the report of receipts and expenditures due before the primary election, has
accumulated contributions from persons eligible to vote in this state in an amount equal to
25 percent of the applicable spending limit amount under section 10A.25, subdivision 2,
for that candidate's campaign, counting only the first $10 received from each contributor,
shall receive a match equal to 25 percent of the applicable spending limit that applies to
that candidate's campaign.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Affidavit. new text end

new text begin (a) An affidavit under subdivision 1 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 $10.
new text end

new text begin (b) The candidate or the candidate's treasurer must submit the affidavit under
subdivision 1 to the board in writing by the deadline for reporting receipts and expenditures
before a primary under section 10A.20, subdivision 4, in order to receive the match.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Special election. new text end

new text begin 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 under subdivision 1 to the board within five days after the
close of the filing period for the special election for which the candidate filed in order to
receive the match.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Unused matching funds. new text end

new text begin After all campaign expenditures and
noncampaign disbursements for an election cycle have been made, the remaining amount
of the public campaign match paid under this section must be returned to the state treasury
for credit to the general fund under section 10A.324.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Appropriation. new text end

new text begin An amount sufficient to pay the state match under this
section is appropriated from the general fund to the public campaign account of the state
elections campaign fund.
new text end

Sec. 10.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 290.06, subdivision 23, is amended to read:

Subd. 23.

Refund of contributions to political parties and candidates.

(a) A
taxpayer may claim a refund equal to the amount of the taxpayer's contributions made
in the calendar year to candidates and to a political party. The maximum refund for an
individual must not exceed deleted text begin $50 deleted text end new text begin $100 new text end and for a married couple, filing jointly, must not
exceed deleted text begin $100 deleted text end new text begin $200 new text end . A refund of a contribution is allowed only if the taxpayer files a form
required by the commissioner and attaches to the form a copy of an official refund receipt
form issued by the candidate or party and signed by the candidate, the treasurer of the
candidate's principal campaign committee, or the chair or treasurer of the party unit, after
the contribution was received. The receipt forms must be numbered, and the data on the
receipt that are not public must be made available to the campaign finance and public
disclosure board upon its request. A claim must be filed with the commissioner no sooner
than January 1 of the calendar year in which the contribution was made and no later
than April 15 of the calendar year following the calendar year in which the contribution
was made. A taxpayer may file only one claim per calendar year. Amounts paid by the
commissioner after June 15 of the calendar year following the calendar year in which the
contribution was made must include interest at the rate specified in section 270C.405.

(b) No refund is allowed under this subdivision for a contribution to a candidate
unless the candidate:

(1) has signed an agreement to limit campaign expenditures as provided in section
10A.322;

(2) is seeking an office for which voluntary spending limits are specified in section
10A.25; and

(3) has designated a principal campaign committee.

This subdivision does not limit the campaign expenditures of a candidate who does
not sign an agreement but accepts a contribution for which the contributor improperly
claims a refund.

(c) For purposes of this subdivision, "political party" means a major political party as
defined in section 200.02, subdivision 7, or a minor political party qualifying for inclusion
on the income tax or property tax refund form under section 10A.31, subdivision 3a.

A "major party" or "minor party" includes the aggregate of that party's organization
within each house of the legislature, the state party organization, and the party organization
within congressional districts, counties, legislative districts, municipalities, and precincts.

"Candidate" means a candidate as defined in section 10A.01, subdivision 10, except
a candidate for judicial office.

"Contribution" means a gift of money.

(d) The commissioner shall make copies of the form available to the public and
candidates upon request.

(e) The following data collected or maintained by the commissioner under this
subdivision are private: the identities of individuals claiming a refund, the identities
of candidates to whom those individuals have made contributions, and the amount of
each contribution.

(f) The commissioner shall report to the campaign finance and public disclosure
board by each August 1 a summary showing the total number and aggregate amount of
political contribution refunds made on behalf of each candidate and each political party.
These data are public.

(g) The amount necessary to pay claims for the refund provided in this section is
appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner of revenue.

(h) For a taxpayer who files a claim for refund via the Internet or other electronic
means, the commissioner may accept the number on the official receipt as documentation
that a contribution was made rather than the actual receipt as required by paragraph (a).

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section applies to contributions made after July 1, 2013.
new text end