HF 2047

as introduced - 79th Legislature (1995 - 1996) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to ethics; providing for a code of fair 
  1.3             campaign practices; requiring candidates who receive 
  1.4             public subsidies to subscribe to the code; prohibiting 
  1.5             false, misleading, or deceptive campaigning; imposing 
  1.6             a penalty; amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 
  1.7             10A.322, subdivision 1; proposing coding for new law 
  1.8             in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 211B. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 10A.322, 
  1.11  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.12     Subdivision 1.  [AGREEMENT BY CANDIDATE.] (a) As a 
  1.13  condition of receiving a public subsidy, a candidate shall sign 
  1.14  and file with the board a written agreement in which the 
  1.15  candidate agrees that the candidate will comply with sections 
  1.16  10A.25 and, 10A.324, and 211B.015. 
  1.17     (b) Before the first day of filing for office, the board 
  1.18  shall forward agreement forms to all filing officers.  The board 
  1.19  shall also provide agreement forms to candidates on request at 
  1.20  any time.  The candidate may sign an agreement and submit it to 
  1.21  the filing officer on the day of filing an affidavit of 
  1.22  candidacy or petition to appear on the ballot, in which case the 
  1.23  filing officer shall without delay forward signed agreements to 
  1.24  the board.  Alternatively, the candidate may submit the 
  1.25  agreement directly to the board at any time before September 1 
  1.26  preceding the general election.  An agreement may not be filed 
  1.27  after that date.  An agreement once filed may not be rescinded. 
  2.1      (c) The board shall forward a copy of any agreement signed 
  2.2   under this subdivision to the commissioner of revenue.  
  2.3      (d) Notwithstanding any provisions of this section, when a 
  2.4   vacancy occurs that will be filled by means of a special 
  2.5   election and the filing period does not coincide with the filing 
  2.6   period for the general election, a candidate may sign and submit 
  2.7   a spending limit an agreement under paragraph (a) at any time 
  2.8   before the deadline for submission of a signed agreement under 
  2.9   section 10A.315. 
  2.10     Sec. 2.  [211B.015] [CODE OF FAIR CAMPAIGN PRACTICES.] 
  2.11     Subdivision 1.  [PURPOSE.] Every candidate for public 
  2.12  office in this state should follow the basic principles of 
  2.13  decency, honesty, and fair play in order to encourage healthy 
  2.14  competition and open discussion of issues and candidate 
  2.15  qualifications and discourage practices that cloud the issues or 
  2.16  unfairly attack opponents.  The purpose of this section is to 
  2.17  encourage every candidate for public office in this state to 
  2.18  subscribe to a code of fair campaign practices. 
  2.19     Subd. 2.  [CODE.] When a political committee, as defined in 
  2.20  section 10A.01, subdivision 15, files its statement of 
  2.21  organization, the ethical practices board shall give the 
  2.22  political committee a blank form of the code of fair campaign 
  2.23  practices and a copy of this section and shall inform each 
  2.24  political committee that subscription to the code is voluntary, 
  2.25  unless the candidate chooses to receive a public subsidy, in 
  2.26  which case the candidate must subscribe to the code.  The text 
  2.27  of the code is as follows: 
  2.28                 "CODE OF FAIR CAMPAIGN PRACTICES
  2.29     There are basic principles of decency, honesty, and fair 
  2.30  play that every candidate for public office in the state of 
  2.31  Minnesota has a moral obligation to observe and uphold, in order 
  2.32  that, after vigorously contested but fairly conducted campaigns, 
  2.33  our citizens may exercise their constitutional right to a free 
  2.34  and untrammeled choice and the will of the people may be fully 
  2.35  and clearly expressed on the issues. 
  2.36     THEREFORE: 
  3.1      (1) I will conduct my campaign openly and publicly, and 
  3.2   limit attacks on my opponent to legitimate challenges to my 
  3.3   opponent's record. 
  3.4      (2) I will not use or permit the use of character 
  3.5   defamation, whispering campaigns, libel, slander, or scurrilous 
  3.6   attacks on any candidate or any candidate's personal or family 
  3.7   life. 
  3.8      (3) I will not use or permit any appeal to negative 
  3.9   prejudice based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, 
  3.10  or national origin.  
  3.11     (4) I will not use campaign material of any sort that 
  3.12  misrepresents, distorts, or otherwise falsifies the facts, nor 
  3.13  will I use malicious or unfounded accusations that aim at 
  3.14  creating or exploiting doubts, without justification, as to the 
  3.15  personal integrity or patriotism of my opposition. 
  3.16     (5) I will not undertake or condone any dishonest or 
  3.17  unethical practice that tends to corrupt or undermine our 
  3.18  American system of free elections or that hampers or prevents 
  3.19  the full and free expression of the will of the voters. 
  3.20     (6) I will defend and uphold the right of every qualified 
  3.21  American voter to full and equal participation in the electoral 
  3.22  process. 
  3.23     (7) I will immediately and publicly repudiate methods and 
  3.24  tactics that may come from others that I have pledged not to use 
  3.25  or condone.  I shall take firm action against any subordinate 
  3.26  who violates any provision of this code or the laws governing 
  3.27  elections. 
  3.28     I, the undersigned, candidate for election to public office 
  3.29  in the state of Minnesota hereby voluntarily endorse, subscribe 
  3.30  to, and solemnly pledge myself to conduct my campaign in 
  3.31  accordance with the above principles and practices. 
  3.32     
  3.33    .................           .........................."
  3.34            Date                          Signature
  3.35     Subd. 3.  [PRINTING AND SUPPLYING FORMS.] The ethical 
  3.36  practices board shall print, or cause to be printed, copies of 
  4.1   the code of fair campaign practices and make them available as 
  4.2   necessary for administration of this section. 
  4.3      Subd. 4.  [COMPLETED FORMS; RETENTION FOR PUBLIC 
  4.4   INSPECTION.] The ethical practices board shall accept prior to 
  4.5   an election all completed copies of the code of fair campaign 
  4.6   practices that are properly subscribed to by a candidate and 
  4.7   shall keep them available for public inspection until 30 days 
  4.8   after the election. 
  4.9      Subd. 5.  [SUBSCRIPTION TO CODE VOLUNTARY.] The 
  4.10  subscription to the code of fair campaign practices by a 
  4.11  candidate is voluntary, except that a candidate who chooses to 
  4.12  receive a public subsidy must subscribe to the code.  A 
  4.13  candidate who has subscribed to the code of fair campaign 
  4.14  practices may so indicate on any campaign literature or 
  4.15  advertising. 
  4.16     Subd. 6.  [NONCOMPLIANCE.] (a) A candidate who subscribes 
  4.17  to the code of fair campaign practices and fails to comply with 
  4.18  the code is not guilty of a criminal offense and nothing in this 
  4.19  section or any other law shall be construed to impose any 
  4.20  criminal penalty for noncompliance with this section. 
  4.21     (b) A candidate who believes that an opposing candidate who 
  4.22  has signed the code of fair campaign practices has violated that 
  4.23  code may file a complaint with the ethical practices board and 
  4.24  have the question of whether or not a violation has occurred 
  4.25  determined pursuant to this paragraph.  The ethical practices 
  4.26  board shall establish a procedure for conducting hearings in an 
  4.27  expeditious and impartial manner to resolve these complaints.  
  4.28  The system must include:  
  4.29     (1) a procedure for selecting three-member panels, each 
  4.30  containing a former elective officeholder or office seeker from 
  4.31  each of the major political parties and a retired judge to act 
  4.32  as chair of the panel; 
  4.33     (2) a requirement that the hearing must be held within 
  4.34  three business days of the filing of the complaint; 
  4.35     (3) a limit on the amount of time each party has to present 
  4.36  its argument so that each hearing can be concluded and a 
  5.1   decision rendered within one day; 
  5.2      (4) provision for electronic hearings when appropriate; and 
  5.3      (5) a requirement that the losing party must pay the costs 
  5.4   of the hearing including per diem and travel expenses of the 
  5.5   hearing panel and any administrative expenses of the board.  
  5.6      If there is no clear winning or losing party, each party 
  5.7   must pay half of the costs of the hearing. 
  5.8      (c) A candidate who subscribes to the code in order to 
  5.9   receive a public subsidy and who is found to have intentionally 
  5.10  violated the code, must return all public subsidies received and 
  5.11  is guilty of a misdemeanor.