HF 137

as introduced - 84th Legislature, 2005 1st Special Session (2005 - 2005) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to elections; providing for nonpartisan
legislative offices; modifying the allocation of money
in the state elections campaign fund; amending
Minnesota Statutes 2004, sections 10A.31, subdivision
5, as amended; 204D.08, subdivisions 4, 6; 204D.13,
subdivision 1.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 10A.31,
subdivision 5, as amended by Laws 2005, chapter 156, article 6,
section 10, is amended to read:

Subd. 5.

Allocation.

(a) [GENERAL ACCOUNT.] In each
calendar year the money in the general account must be allocated
to candidates as follows:

(1) 21 percent for the offices of governor and lieutenant
governor together;

(2) 4.2 percent for the office of attorney general;

(3) 2.4 percent each for the offices of secretary of state
and state auditor;

(4) in each calendar year during the period in which state
senators serve a four-year term, 23-1/3 percent for the office
of state senator, and 46-2/3 percent for the office of state
representative; and

(5) in each calendar year during the period in which state
senators serve a two-year term, 35 percent each for the offices
of state senator and state representative.

(b) [PARTY ACCOUNT.] In each calendar year the money in
each party account must be allocated as follows:

(1) 14 percent for the offices of governor and lieutenant
governor together;

(2) 2.8 percent for the office of attorney general;

(3) 1.6 percent each for the offices of secretary of state
and state auditor; new text begin and
new text end

(4) deleted text begin in each calendar year during the period in which state
senators serve a four-year term, 23-1/3 percent for the office
of state senator, and 46-2/3 percent for the office of state
representative;
deleted text end

deleted text begin (5) in each calendar year during the period in which state
senators serve a two-year term, 35 percent each for the offices
of state senator and state representative; and
deleted text end

deleted text begin (6) ten deleted text end new text begin 80 new text end percent deleted text begin or $50,000, whichever is less, deleted text end for the
state committee of a political party deleted text begin ; one-third of any amount in
excess of that allocated to the state committee of a political
party under this clause must be allocated to the office of state
senator and two-thirds must be allocated to the office of state
representative under clause (4) deleted text end .

Money allocated to each state committee under clause deleted text begin (6) deleted text end new text begin (4)
new text end must be deposited in a separate account and must be spent for
only those items enumerated in section 10A.275. Money allocated
to a state committee under clause deleted text begin (6) deleted text end new text begin (4) new text end must be paid to the
committee by the board as it is received in the account on a
monthly basis, with payment on the 15th day of the calendar
month following the month in which the returns were processed by
the Department of Revenue, provided that these distributions
would be equal to 90 percent of the amount of money indicated in
the Department of Revenue's weekly unedited reports of income
tax returns and property tax refund returns processed in the
month, as notified by the Department of Revenue to the board.
The amounts paid to each state committee are subject to biennial
adjustment and settlement at the time of each certification
required of the commissioner of revenue under subdivisions 7 and
10. If the total amount of payments received by a state
committee for the period reflected on a certification by the
Department of Revenue is different from the amount that should
have been received during the period according to the
certification, each subsequent monthly payment must be increased
or decreased to the fullest extent possible until the amount of
the overpayment is recovered or the underpayment is distributed.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 204D.08,
subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

State partisan primary ballot; party columns.

The state partisan primary ballot shall be headed by the words
"State Partisan Primary Ballot." The ballot shall be printed on
white paper. There must be at least three vertical columns on
the ballot and each major political party shall have a separate
column headed by the words ".......... Party," giving the party
name. Above the party names, the following statement shall be
printed.

"Minnesota Election Law permits you to vote for the
candidates of only one political party in a state partisan
primary election."

If there are only two major political parties to be listed
on the ballot, one party must occupy the left-hand column, the
other party must occupy the right-hand column, and the center
column must contain the following statement:

"Do not vote for candidates of more than one party."

The names of the candidates seeking the nomination of each
major political party shall be listed in that party's column.
If only one individual files an affidavit of candidacy seeking
the nomination of a major political party for an office, the
name of that individual shall be placed on the state partisan
primary ballot at the appropriate location in that party's
column.

In each column, the candidates for senator in Congress
shall be listed first, candidates for representative in Congress
second, deleted text begin candidates for state senator third, candidates for state
representative fourth deleted text end and then candidates for state office in
the order specified by the secretary of state.

The party columns shall be substantially the same in width,
type, and appearance. The columns shall be separated by a
12-point solid line.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 204D.08,
subdivision 6, is amended to read:

Subd. 6.

State and county nonpartisan primary ballot.

The state and county nonpartisan primary ballot shall be headed
"State and County Nonpartisan Primary Ballot." It shall be
printed on canary paper. The names of candidates for nomination
to new text begin the state senate, the state house of representatives, new text end the
Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, district court, and all county
offices shall be placed on this ballot.

No candidate whose name is placed on the state and county
nonpartisan primary ballot shall be designated or identified as
the candidate of any political party or in any other manner
except as expressly provided by law.

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 204D.13,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Order of offices.

The candidates for
partisan offices shall be placed on the white ballot in the
following order: senator in Congress shall be first;
representative in Congress, second deleted text begin ; state senator, third; and
state representative, fourth deleted text end . The candidates for state offices
shall follow in the order specified by the secretary of state.
Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor shall appear so
that a single vote may be cast for both offices.