1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to elections; campaign finance; changing the 
  1.3             treatment of spending limits and public subsidy in 
  1.4             certain cases; amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, 
  1.5             section 10A.25, subdivision 10. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 10A.25, 
  1.8   subdivision 10, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 10.  [EFFECT OF OPPONENT'S AGREEMENT CONDUCT.] (a) 
  1.10  The expenditure limits imposed by this section apply only to 
  1.11  candidates whose major political party opponents agree to be 
  1.12  bound by the limits and who themselves agree to be bound by the 
  1.13  limits as a condition of receiving a public subsidy for their 
  1.14  campaigns.  
  1.15     (b) A candidate who agrees to be bound by the limits and 
  1.16  receives a public subsidy, who has an opponent who:  
  1.17     (1) is a candidate of a major political party; and (2) does 
  1.18  not agree to be bound by the limits but is otherwise eligible to 
  1.19  receive a public subsidy: 
  1.20     (i) is no longer bound by the limits, including those in 
  1.21  section 10A.324, subdivision 1, paragraph (c); 
  1.22     (ii) is eligible to receive a public subsidy; and 
  1.23     (iii) also receives, or shares equally with any other 
  1.24  candidate who agrees to be bound by limits, the opponent's share 
  1.25  of the general account public subsidy under section 10A.31. 
  2.1      For purposes of this subdivision, "otherwise eligible to 
  2.2   receive a public subsidy" means that a candidate meets the 
  2.3   requirements of sections 10A.31, 10A.315, 10A.321, and 10A.322, 
  2.4   but does not mean that the candidate has filed an affidavit of 
  2.5   matching funds under section 10A.323. 
  2.6      (a) A candidate who has agreed to be bound by the 
  2.7   expenditure limits imposed by this section as a condition of 
  2.8   receiving a public subsidy for the candidate's campaign is 
  2.9   released from the expenditure limits and is eligible to receive 
  2.10  a public subsidy if the candidate has an opponent who by ten 
  2.11  days before the primary has received contributions in an amount 
  2.12  equal to or has made or become obligated to make expenditures in 
  2.13  an amount equal to ten percent or more of the expenditure limit 
  2.14  for candidates for that office under subdivision 2, who does not 
  2.15  agree to be bound by the limits. 
  2.16     (b) Thereafter, within 24 hours after a candidate who has 
  2.17  not agreed to be bound by limits or the candidate's principal 
  2.18  campaign committee has received contributions, spent, or become 
  2.19  obligated to spend an amount equal to 50 percent or more of the 
  2.20  expenditure limit for candidates for that office under 
  2.21  subdivision 2, on the candidate's campaign, the candidate or 
  2.22  candidate's principal campaign committee must file written 
  2.23  notice with the board and provide written notice to any other 
  2.24  candidate for the office.  The notice must state only that the 
  2.25  candidate or candidate's principal campaign committee has 
  2.26  received contributions, made, or become obligated to make 
  2.27  campaign expenditures in an amount equal to or greater than 50 
  2.28  percent of the expenditure limit for the office sought by the 
  2.29  candidate.  Upon receipt of the notice any other candidate for 
  2.30  the office is no longer bound by expenditure limits and is 
  2.31  eligible to receive the public subsidy.