1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to elections; prohibiting political parties
1.3 	that receive a public subsidy from making independent
1.4 	expenditures; expanding the definitions of campaign
1.5 	expenditures and independent expenditures; limiting
1.6 	multicandidate expenditures by political parties;
1.7 	amending Minnesota Statutes 2004, sections 10A.01,
1.8 	subdivisions 9, 18; 10A.25, subdivision 1, by adding a
1.9 	subdivision; 10A.275, subdivision 1; 10A.28,
1.10 	subdivision 1; 10A.322.
1.11 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.12 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 10A.01,
1.13 	subdivision 9, is amended to read:
1.14 		Subd. 9.Campaign expenditure. (a) "Campaign
1.15 	expenditure" or "expenditure" means a purchase or payment of
1.16 	money or anything of value, or an advance of credit, made or
1.17 	incurred for the purpose of influencing the nomination or
1.18 	election of a candidate or for the purpose of promoting or
1.19 	defeating a ballot question.
1.20 	(b) "Expenditure" includes a cost incurred to design,
1.21 	produce, or disseminate a communication if the communication
1.22 	contains words such as "vote for," "reelect," "(name of
1.23 	candidate) for (office)," "vote against," "defeat," or another
1.24 	phrase or campaign slogan that in context can have no reasonable
1.25 	meaning other than to advocate support for or opposition to the
1.26 	nomination or election of one or more clearly identified
1.27 	candidates.
1.28 	(c) "Expenditure" is presumed to include a cost incurred to
2.1 	design, produce, or disseminate a communication if the
2.2 	communication names or depicts one or more clearly identified
2.3 	candidates; is disseminated during the 45 days before a primary
2.4 	election, during the 60 days before a general election, or
2.5 	during a special election cycle until election day; and the cost
2.6 	exceeds the following amounts for a communication naming or
2.7 	depicting a candidate for the following offices:
2.8 	(1) $500 for a candidate for governor, lieutenant governor,
2.9 	attorney general, secretary of state, or state auditor; or 
2.10 	(2) $100 for a candidate for state senator or
2.11 	representative.
2.12 	An individual or association presumed under this paragraph
2.13 	to have made an expenditure may rebut the presumption by an
2.14 	affidavit signed by the spender and filed with the board stating
2.15 	that the cost was not incurred with intent to influence the
2.16 	nomination, election, or defeat of any candidate, supported by
2.17 	any additional evidence the spender chooses to submit.  The
2.18 	board may consider any additional evidence it deems relevant and
2.19 	material and must determine by a preponderance of the evidence
2.20 	whether the cost was incurred with intent to influence the
2.21 	nomination, election, or defeat of a candidate.
2.22 	(d) An expenditure is considered to be made in the year in
2.23 	which the candidate made the purchase of goods or services or
2.24 	incurred an obligation to pay for goods or services.
2.25 	(e) An expenditure made for the purpose of defeating a
2.26 	candidate is considered made for the purpose of influencing the
2.27 	nomination or election of that candidate or any opponent of that
2.28 	candidate.
2.29 	(f) Except as provided in clause (1), "expenditure"
2.30 	includes the dollar value of a donation in kind.
2.31 	"Expenditure" does not include:
2.32 	(1) noncampaign disbursements as defined in subdivision 26;
2.33 	(2) services provided without compensation by an individual
2.34 	volunteering personal time on behalf of a candidate, ballot
2.35 	question, political committee, political fund, principal
2.36 	campaign committee, or party unit; or 
3.1 	(3) the publishing or broadcasting of news items or
3.2 	editorial comments by the news media, if the news medium is not
3.3 	owned by or affiliated with any candidate or principal campaign
3.4 	committee; or 
3.5 	(4) a cost incurred by an association for a communication
3.6 	targeted to inform solely its own dues-paying members of the
3.7 	association's position on a candidate.

3.8 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 10A.01,
3.9 	subdivision 18, is amended to read:
3.10 		Subd. 18.Independent expenditure. (a) "Independent
3.11 	expenditure" means an expenditure expressly advocating the
3.12 	election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate, if the
3.13 	expenditure that is made without the express or implied consent,
3.14 	authorization, or cooperation of, and not in concert with or at
3.15 	the request or suggestion of, any candidate or any candidate's
3.16 	principal campaign committee or agent.  An independent
3.17 	expenditure is not a contribution to that candidate. An
3.18 	expenditure by a political party or political party unit in a
3.19 	race where the political party has a candidate on the ballot is
3.20 	not an independent expenditure.
3.21 	(b) An expenditure is presumed to be not independent if,
3.22 	for example:
3.23 	(1) in the same election cycle in which the expenditure
3.24 	occurs, the spender or the spender's agent retains the
3.25 	professional services of an individual or entity that, in a
3.26 	nonministerial capacity, provides or has provided
3.27 	campaign-related service, including polling or other campaign
3.28 	research, media consulting or production, direct mail, or
3.29 	fundraising, to a candidate supported by the spender for
3.30 	nomination or election to the same office as any candidate whose
3.31 	nomination or election the expenditure is intended to influence
3.32 	or to a political party working in coordination with the
3.33 	supported candidate;
3.34 	(2) the expenditure pays for a communication that
3.35 	disseminates, in whole or in substantial part, a broadcast or
3.36 	written, graphic, or other form of campaign material designed,
4.1 	produced, or distributed by the candidate or the candidate's
4.2 	principal campaign committee or their agents;
4.3 	(3) the expenditure is based on information about the
4.4 	candidate's electoral campaign plans, projects, or needs that is
4.5 	provided by the candidate or the candidate's principal campaign
4.6 	committee or their agents directly or indirectly to the spender
4.7 	or the spender's agent, with an express or tacit understanding
4.8 	that the spender is considering making the expenditure;
4.9 	(4) before the election, the spender or the spender's agent
4.10 	informs a candidate or the principal campaign committee or agent
4.11 	of a candidate for the same office as a candidate clearly
4.12 	identified in a communication paid for by the expenditure about
4.13 	the communication's contents; timing, location, mode, or
4.14 	frequency of dissemination; or intended audience; or 
4.15 	(5) in the same election cycle in which the expenditure
4.16 	occurs, the spender or the spender's agent is serving or has
4.17 	served in an executive, policymaking, fundraising, or advisory
4.18 	position with the candidate's campaign or has participated in
4.19 	strategic or policymaking discussions with the candidate's
4.20 	campaign relating to the candidate's pursuit of nomination or
4.21 	election to office and the candidate is pursuing the same office
4.22 	as a candidate whose nomination or election the expenditure is
4.23 	intended to influence.
4.24 	An individual or association presumed under this paragraph
4.25 	to have made an expenditure that was not independent may rebut
4.26 	the presumption by an affidavit signed by the spender and filed
4.27 	with the board stating that the expenditure was made without the
4.28 	express or implied consent, authorization, or cooperation of,
4.29 	and not in concert with or at the request or suggestion of, any
4.30 	candidate or candidate's principal campaign committee or agent,
4.31 	supported by additional evidence the spender chooses to submit.
4.32 	The board may consider any additional evidence it deems relevant
4.33 	and material and must determine by a preponderance of the
4.34 	evidence whether the expenditure was independent.
4.35 	(c) An expenditure by anyone other than a principal
4.36 	campaign committee that does not qualify as an independent
5.1 	expenditure under this subdivision is deemed to be an approved
5.2 	expenditure under subdivision 4.

5.3 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 10A.25,
5.4 	subdivision 1, is amended to read:
5.5 		Subdivision 1.Limits are voluntary.  The expenditure
5.6 	limits imposed by this section on a candidate apply only to a
5.7 	candidate who has signed and filed an agreement under section
5.8 	10A.322 to be bound by them as a condition of receiving a public
5.9 	subsidy for the candidate's campaign. The prohibition on
5.10 	independent expenditures imposed by subdivision 14 applies only
5.11 	to a political party that has signed an agreement under section
5.12 	10A.322 to be bound by it as a condition of receiving a public
5.13 	subsidy for the party's activities.

5.14 	Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 10A.25, is
5.15 	amended by adding a subdivision to read:
5.16 		Subd. 14.Independent expenditures by political parties.
 5.17 	(a) A political party that receives a public subsidy must not
5.18 	make an independent expenditure.
5.19 	(b) A political party that has agreed not to make
5.20 	independent expenditures as a condition of receiving a public
5.21 	subsidy is released from the prohibition but remains eligible to
5.22 	receive a public subsidy if a political party that has not
5.23 	agreed to the prohibition makes an independent expenditure
5.24 	during that election cycle.
5.25 	(c) A political party that has not agreed to the
5.26 	prohibition in this subdivision must file written notice with
5.27 	the board and serve written notice on every other political
5.28 	party within 24 hours after making an independent expenditure.
5.29 	The notice must state only that the political party has made an
5.30 	independent expenditure.  Upon receipt of the notice, the
5.31 	political party that agreed to the prohibition is no longer
5.32 	subject to the prohibition but remains eligible to receive a
5.33 	public subsidy.

5.34 	Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 10A.275,
5.35 	subdivision 1, is amended to read:
5.36 		Subdivision 1.Exceptions.  Notwithstanding other
6.1 	provisions of this chapter, the following expenditures by a
6.2 	party unit, or two or more party units acting together, with at
6.3 	least one party unit being either:  the state committee or the
6.4 	party organization within a congressional district, county, or
6.5 	legislative district, are not considered contributions to or
6.6 	expenditures on behalf of a candidate for the purposes of
6.7 	section 10A.25 or 10A.27 and must not be allocated to candidates
6.8 	under section 10A.20, subdivision 3, paragraph (g):
6.9 	(1) expenditures on behalf of candidates of that party
6.10 	generally without referring to any of them specifically in a
6.11 	published, posted, or broadcast advertisement;
6.12 	(2) expenditures for the preparation, display, mailing, or
6.13 	other distribution of an official party sample ballot listing
6.14 	the names of three or more individuals whose names are to appear
6.15 	on the ballot;
6.16 	(3) expenditures for a telephone conversation including 
6.17 	mentioning with roughly equal emphasis the names of three or
6.18 	more individuals whose names are to appear on the ballot; or 
6.19 	(4) expenditures for a political party fund-raising effort
6.20 	on behalf of three or more candidates; or 
6.21 	(5) expenditures for party committee staff services that
6.22 	benefit three or more candidates.

6.23 	Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 10A.28,
6.24 	subdivision 1, is amended to read:
6.25 		Subdivision 1.Exceeding expenditure limits. (a) A
6.26 	candidate subject to the expenditure limits in section 10A.25
6.27 	who permits the candidate's principal campaign committee to make
6.28 	expenditures or permits approved expenditures to be made on the
6.29 	candidate's behalf in excess of the limits imposed by section
6.30 	10A.25, as adjusted by section 10A.255, is subject to a civil
6.31 	penalty of up to four times the amount by which the expenditures
6.32 	exceeded the limit.
6.33 	(b) The chair of a political party or party unit subject to
6.34 	the prohibition on independent expenditures in section 10A.25,
6.35 	subdivision 14, who permits the political party or party unit to
6.36 	make expenditures in violation of those prohibitions is subject
7.1 	to a civil penalty of up to four times the amount of the
7.2 	expenditures.

7.3 	Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 10A.322, is
7.4 	amended to read:
7.5 	10A.322 SPENDING LIMIT AGREEMENTS.
7.6 		Subdivision 1.Agreement by candidate. (a) As a
7.7 	condition of receiving a public subsidy, a candidate must sign
7.8 	and file with the board a written agreement in which the
7.9 	candidate agrees that the candidate will comply with sections
7.10 	10A.25; 10A.27, subdivision 10; 10A.31, subdivision 7, paragraph
7.11 	(c); and 10A.324.
7.12 	(b) Before the first day of filing for office, the board
7.13 	must forward agreement forms to all filing officers.  The board
7.14 	must also provide agreement forms to candidates on request at
7.15 	any time.  The candidate must file the agreement with the board
7.16 	by September August 1 preceding the candidate's general election
7.17 	or a special election held at the general election.  An
7.18 	agreement may not be filed after that date.  An agreement once
7.19 	filed may not be rescinded.
7.20 	(c) The board must notify the commissioner of revenue of
7.21 	any agreement signed filed under this subdivision.
7.22 	(d) Notwithstanding paragraph (b), if a vacancy occurs that
7.23 	will be filled by means of a special election and the filing
7.24 	period does not coincide with the filing period for the general
7.25 	election, a candidate may sign and submit file a spending limit
7.26 	agreement not later than the day after the candidate files the
7.27 	affidavit of candidacy or nominating petition for the office.
7.28 		Subd. 2.How long agreement is effective. (e) The
7.29 	agreement, insofar as it relates to the expenditure limits in
7.30 	section 10A.25, as adjusted by section 10A.255, and the
7.31 	contribution limit in section 10A.27, subdivision 10, remains
7.32 	effective for candidates until the dissolution of the principal
7.33 	campaign committee of the candidate or the end of the first
7.34 	election cycle completed after the agreement was filed,
7.35 	whichever occurs first.
7.36 		Subd. 2.Agreement by political party or party unit. (a)
8.1 	As a condition of receiving a public subsidy, the chair of the
8.2 	state committee of a political party must sign and file with the
8.3 	board a written agreement in which the state committee agrees
8.4 	that the political party and all its party units will comply
8.5 	with section 10A.25, subdivision 14.  An agreement once filed
8.6 	may not be rescinded.
8.7 	(b) The board must provide agreement forms to political
8.8 	parties and party units on request at any time.  The state chair
8.9 	must file the agreement with the board by February 1 of any year
8.10 	during an election cycle in order to be allocated money
8.11 	designated to the party account on tax returns for the preceding
8.12 	and current taxable years.
8.13 	(c) The agreement remains in effect until the end of the
8.14 	first general election cycle completed after the agreement was
8.15 	filed or the dissolution of the political party, whichever
8.16 	occurs first.
8.17 	(d) The board must notify the commissioner of revenue of
8.18 	any agreement filed under this subdivision.
8.19 		Subd. 4.Refund receipt forms; penalty. (a) The board
8.20 	must make available to a political party on request and to any 
8.21 	or candidate for whom an agreement under this section is
8.22 	effective, a supply of official refund receipt forms that state
8.23 	in boldface type that (1) a contributor who is given a receipt
8.24 	form is eligible to claim a refund as provided in section
8.25 	290.06, subdivision 23, and (2) if the contribution is to a
8.26 	candidate,that the candidate or political party has signed an
8.27 	agreement to limit campaign expenditures as provided in this
8.28 	section.  The forms must provide duplicate copies of the receipt
8.29 	to be attached to the contributor's claim.
8.30 	(b) If a candidate who does not sign an agreement under
8.31 	this section and who the candidate or the treasurer of the
8.32 	candidate's principal campaign committee willfully issues an
8.33 	official refund receipt form or a facsimile of one to any of the
8.34 	candidate's contributors, the issuer of the receipt is guilty of
8.35 	a misdemeanor.

8.36 	Sec. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.
 9.1 	This act is effective January 1, 2006, and applies to
9.2 	contributions received, expenditures made, and checkoff money
9.3 	distributed on and after that date.