Modifying certain election campaign finance and ethics provisions; clarifying, modifying or expanding certain definitions; providing for correction of inaccuracies in filed statements or reports found by the state campaign finance and public disclosure board, providing for mailed notice and response, authorizing the board to impose a late filing fee for failure to respond promptly; eliminating certain notice personal service and further notice requirements of the board; providing for notice to principals of failure to file required statements or reports; extending certain reporting time limits after notice of failure to file; modifying certain board statements of economic interest publication requirements; requiring the registration of certain legal or defense funds or committees; authorizing the payment of certain late filing fees from political committee or fund assets; modifying certain contribution deposit and return time limits; authorizing election candidates or party units to rely on the presence or absence of registration numbers on contribution checks to determine lobbyist contributions, imposing a penalty on contributors failing to comply with the registration number requirement; providing for the treatment of contributions from joint accounts; requiring and specifying a time limit for political committees or funds making independent expenditures for special elections to file reports on the expenditures; requiring reports of independent expenditures made in support of a candidate; modifying the content requirements for preelection reports; providing for petition to the district court for equitable relief for failure to timely file reports due; increasing the spending limits for the offices of attorney general, secretary of state and state auditor; modifying and clarifying the provision providing for the effect of opponent conduct relating to spending limit agreements; prohibiting principal campaign committees from making independent expenditures on behalf of other principal campaign committees; requiring dissolving committees making contributions to other candidates to provide with the contribution a statement of intent to dissolve and imposing a penalty for failure to dissolve; providing for the payment of committee debts after candidate defeat; clarifying the prohibition on contributions during regular sessions of the legislature and extending the prohibition for candidates for governor or lieutenant governor, clarifying subjection to penalties, excepting campaigns for federal office; requiring board withholding of public subsidies for failure to file or to pay money owed to the board; authorizing distribution checks to candidates from the income tax checkoff to include a financial institution as an additional payee; modifying the provision providing for special election subsidies; extending the deadline for filing spending limit agreements for candidates filling a vacancy in nomination after the original deadline; requiring return to the board or destruction of nonissued official receipt forms; expanding conditions for return of public subsidies; creating an exception to personal liability for penalties; authorizing board district court actions to recover civil penalties or public subsidies; imposing additional penalties for failure to comply with the requirements and for false complaints, authorizing the awarding of costs to the board under certain conditions; modifying certain financial report requirements; authorizing certain aggregate contributions; specifying certain codification instructions to the revisor of statutes (mk)