HF 1593

as introduced - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to elections; campaign finance; imposing a
certain payment on a candidate who does not agree to
be bound by spending limits; providing for deposit of
the payment in the state elections campaign fund;
amending Minnesota Statutes, section 10A.25,
subdivision 10.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 10A.25,
subdivision 10, is amended to read:

Subd. 10.

Effect of opponent's conduct.

(a) After the
deadline for filing a spending limit agreement under section
10A.322, a candidate who has agreed to be bound by the
expenditure limits imposed by this section as a condition of
receiving a public subsidy for the candidate's campaign may
choose to be released from the expenditure limits but remain
eligible to receive a public subsidy if the candidate has an
opponent who has not agreed to be bound by the limits and has
received contributions or made or become obligated to make
expenditures during that election cycle in excess of the
following limits:

(1) up to the close of the reporting period before the
primary election, receipts or expenditures equal to 20 percent
of the expenditure limit for that office as set forth in
subdivision 2; or

(2) after the close of the reporting period before the
primary election, cumulative receipts or expenditures during
that election cycle equal to 50 percent of the expenditure limit
for that office as set forth in subdivision 2.

Before the primary election, a candidate's "opponents" are
only those who will appear on the ballot of the same party in
the primary election.

(b) A candidate who has not agreed to be bound by
expenditure limits, or the candidate's principal campaign
committee, must file written notice with the board and provide
written notice to any opponent of the candidate for the same
office within 24 hours of exceeding the limits in paragraph
(a). The notice must state deleted text begin only that the candidate or
candidate's principal campaign committee has received
contributions or made or become obligated to make campaign
expenditures in excess of the limits in paragraph (a) deleted text end new text begin the amount
by which the candidate's principal campaign committee has become
obligated to make campaign expenditures in excess of the limits
in paragraph (a). The candidate must (1) report to the board
biweekly thereafter until the general election day, additional
amounts by which the candidate's principal campaign committee
has become obligated to make campaign expenditures, and (2)
forward to the board with each report a payment in an amount
equal to one-half the amount reported under this paragraph.
Amounts paid by candidates under this paragraph must be
deposited in the state elections campaign fund and credited to
the general account of that fund.
new text end

(c) Upon receipt of the notice, a candidate who had agreed
to be bound by the limits may file with the board a notice that
the candidate chooses to be no longer bound by the expenditure
limits. A notice of a candidate's choice not to be bound by the
expenditure limits that is based on the conduct of an opponent
in the state primary election may not be filed more than one day
after the State Canvassing Board has declared the results of the
state primary.

(d) A candidate who has agreed to be bound by the
expenditure limits imposed by this section and whose opponent in
the general election has chosen, as provided in paragraph (c),
not to be bound by the expenditure limits because of the conduct
of an opponent in the primary election is no longer bound by the
limits but remains eligible to receive a public subsidy.