Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature

SF 1769

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

KEY: stricken = removed, old language.
underscored = added, new language.

Current Version - as introduced

Line numbers 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8
1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 2.27 2.28 2.29 2.30 2.31 2.32 2.33 2.34 2.35 2.36 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22
3.23 3.24 3.25 3.26 3.27 3.28 3.29 3.30 3.31 3.32 3.33 3.34 3.35 3.36 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23 4.24 4.25 4.26 4.27 4.28
4.29 4.30 4.31 4.32 4.33 4.34 4.35 4.36 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5
5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10

A bill for an act
relating to elections; requiring notice of certain
independent expenditures; releasing candidates
attacked by certain independent expenditures from
spending limit agreement; amending Minnesota Statutes
2004, sections 10A.20, subdivision 6b; 10A.25, by
adding a subdivision.

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

Section 1. new text begin LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS; PURPOSE.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Legislative findings. new text end

new text begin The legislature
finds that while this state has a system of partial public
financing of campaigns, our current system still encourages
large amounts of private money to be used to finance campaigns.
This private money undermines democracy in the following ways:
new text end

new text begin (a) It stifles the First Amendment, which was designed "to
secure the widest possible dissemination of information from
diverse and antagonistic sources," and "to assure the unfettered
interchange of ideas for the bringing about of political and
social changes desired by the people." Instead, heavy funding
of certain candidates and interests discourages other candidates
from running and prevents many perspectives from receiving any
dissemination whatsoever. In addition, after a certain point,
more spending does not create more speech but has the opposite
impact, overwhelming the public and causing them to tune out
speech from any candidate.
new text end

new text begin (b) It undermines the First Amendment right of voters to
hear speech from all candidates and all perspectives and
undermines the core First Amendment value of open and robust
debate in the political process.
new text end

new text begin (c) It inhibits communication with the electorate by
candidates without access to large sums of campaign money.
new text end

new text begin (d) It burdens elected officials and candidates with
endless hours of fundraising, thus decreasing the time available
to carry out their public responsibilities.
new text end

new text begin (e) It discourages people from participating in the
political process. A 1998 poll conducted by St. Cloud State
University found that, because of their belief that contributors
have more influence than noncontributors do, one-third of
respondents are "less likely to vote or participate in politics."
Over half of those who said that they did not vote in the 1996
election said they were less likely to vote or participate
because of this belief.
new text end

new text begin (f) It violates the rights of citizens to equal and
meaningful participation in the democratic process.
new text end

new text begin (g) It creates a public perception of corruption and
undermines public confidence in the democratic process and
democratic institutions. This perception is held by almost nine
out of ten Minnesotans. The 1998 St. Cloud State University
poll showed that 88 percent of all Minnesotans believe elected
officials are more responsive to contributors than to voters who
do not contribute.
new text end

new text begin (h) It not only creates a perception of corruption, but
actually encourages elected officials to take money from private
interests that are directly affected by governmental actions.
new text end

new text begin (i) It diminishes the perceived, and perhaps the real,
accountability of elected officials to their constituents by
giving them incentives to be accountable to major campaign
contributors instead.
new text end

new text begin (j) It undermines the integrity of the election process by
making it difficult for qualified candidates without access to
large contributors or personal fortunes to mount competitive
campaigns and discourages them from running.
new text end

new text begin (k) It undermines the integrity of the election process by
placing challengers at a disadvantage, because large campaign
contributors tend to give their money to incumbents, thus
causing elections to be less competitive.
new text end

new text begin (l) It costs taxpayers millions of dollars for the
legislative and regulatory decisions made by elected officials
on behalf of major campaign contributors.
new text end

new text begin The legislature finds each of these defects on its own has
a corrosive impact on our democracy either by corrupting the
political process or by creating the appearance of corruption.
Accordingly, the state has a compelling interest in addressing
them through this act.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Purpose. new text end

new text begin This act is intended to restore the
First Amendment rights of nonwealthy candidates by enabling them
to disseminate their views without being drowned out by heavily
funded independent expenditures that they cannot respond to for
lack of money.
new text end

new text begin This act is designed to create benefits for participating
candidates to compensate for the restrictions applied to them
and to further the compelling state interest of encouraging
participation in this system of financing campaigns without
special interest money.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 10A.20,
subdivision 6b, is amended to read:


Subd. 6b.

Independent expenditures; notice.

(a) Within
24 hours after an individual, political committee, deleted text begin or deleted text end political
fundnew text begin , principal campaign committee, or party unit new text end makes or
becomes obligated by oral or written agreement to make an
independent expenditure in excess of $100 new text begin in a legislative
district election or $500 in a statewide election
new text end , other than an
expenditure by an association targeted to inform solely its own
dues-paying members of the association's position on a
candidate, the individual, political committee, deleted text begin or deleted text end political
fundnew text begin , principal campaign committee, or party unit new text end must file with
the board deleted text begin an affidavit notifying the board deleted text end new text begin a notice new text end of the
intent to make the independent expenditure and deleted text begin serve deleted text end new text begin provide new text end a
copy of the deleted text begin affidavit on deleted text end new text begin notice to new text end each candidate in the
affected race and deleted text begin on deleted text end new text begin to new text end the treasurer of the candidate's
principal campaign committee. The deleted text begin affidavit deleted text end new text begin notice new text end must contain
the information with respect to the expenditure that is required
to be reported under subdivision 3, paragraph (g); except that
if an expenditure is reported before it is made, the notice must
include a reasonable estimate of the anticipated amount. new text begin The
notice must include an affidavit, under penalty of perjury,
signed and sworn to by the individual or by the treasurer of the
committee, fund, or party unit identifying the candidate in
support of or opposition to whom the expenditure is made and
affirming that the expenditure was independent and involved no
cooperation or coordination with a candidate or a political
party.
new text end Each new expenditure requires a new notice.

(b) new text begin An individual or association may file a complaint with
the board that a required notice was not filed or that a notice
filed under this subdivision is false. The board must determine
the complaint promptly. If the board determines that a notice
was false and the board has distributed a public subsidy to a
candidate based on the false notice, the candidate must return
the subsidy to the board.
new text end

new text begin (c) new text end An individual or the treasurer of a political committee
deleted text begin or deleted text end new text begin ,new text end political fundnew text begin , principal campaign committee, or party unit
new text end who fails to give notice as required by this subdivision, or who
files a false deleted text begin affidavit of deleted text end notice, is guilty of a gross
misdemeanor and is subject to a civil fine of up to four times
the amount of the independent expenditure stated in the notice
or of which notice was required, whichever is greater.

Sec. 3.

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


new text begin Subd. 14. new text end

new text begin Effect of independent expenditures. new text end

new text begin When a
candidate 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, and the sum of independent
expenditures made in opposition to the candidate plus
independent expenditures made in support of the candidate's
major political party opponents, as reported to the board under
section 10A.20, subdivisions 2, 6, and 6b, exceeds $1,000 during
an election cycle, the board shall notify the candidate that the
candidate is released from the expenditure limits but remains
eligible to receive a public subsidy.
new text end

Sec. 4. new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE.
new text end

new text begin This act is effective the day following final enactment.
Section 2 applies to expenditures made on or after August 1,
2005. Section 3 applies to the sum of independent expenditures
made on or after its effective date.
new text end