Minnesota Session Laws - 1996, Regular Session

  
    
KEY: stricken = old language to be removed
     underscored = new language to be added
    
                            CHAPTER 459-S.F.No. 840 
                  An act relating to elections; campaign finance; 
                  changing the treatment of spending limits and public 
                  subsidy in certain cases; changing certain exemptions 
                  and reporting requirements; amending Minnesota 
                  Statutes 1994, section 10A.20, subdivision 3; 10A.25, 
                  subdivision 10; and 211B.15, subdivision 15, and by 
                  adding a subdivision; repealing Minnesota Statutes 
                  1994, section 10A.324, subdivision 5. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 10A.20, 
        subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 3.  [CONTENTS OF REPORT.] Each report under this 
        section shall disclose: 
           (a) The amount of liquid assets on hand at the beginning of 
        the reporting period; 
           (b) The name, address and employer, or occupation if 
        self-employed, of each individual, political committee or 
        political fund who within the year has made one or more 
        transfers or donations in kind to the political committee or 
        political fund, including the purchase of tickets for all fund 
        raising efforts, which in aggregate exceed $100 for legislative 
        or statewide candidates or ballot questions, together with the 
        amount and date of each transfer or donation in kind, and the 
        aggregate amount of transfers and donations in kind within the 
        year from each source so disclosed.  A donation in kind shall be 
        disclosed at its fair market value.  An approved expenditure is 
        listed as a donation in kind.  A donation in kind is considered 
        consumed in the reporting period in which it is received.  The 
        names of contributors shall be listed in alphabetical order; 
           (c) The sum of contributions to the political committee or 
        political fund during the reporting period; 
           (d) Each loan made or received by the political committee 
        or political fund within the year in aggregate in excess of 
        $100, continuously reported until repaid or forgiven, together 
        with the name, address, occupation and the principal place of 
        business, if any, of the lender and any endorser and the date 
        and amount of the loan.  If any loan made to the principal 
        campaign committee of a candidate is forgiven at any time or 
        repaid by any entity other than that principal campaign 
        committee, it shall be reported as a contribution for the year 
        in which the loan was made; 
           (e) Each receipt in excess of $100 not otherwise listed 
        under clauses (b) to (d); 
           (f) The sum of all receipts of the political committee or 
        political fund during the reporting period; 
           (g) The name and address of each individual or association 
        to whom aggregate expenditures, including approved expenditures, 
        have been made by or on behalf of the political committee or 
        political fund within the year in excess of $100, together with 
        the amount, date and purpose of each expenditure and the name 
        and address of, and office sought by, each candidate on whose 
        behalf the expenditure was made, identification of the ballot 
        question which the expenditure is intended to promote or defeat, 
        and in the case of independent expenditures made in opposition 
        to a candidate, the name, address and office sought for each 
        such candidate; 
           (h) The sum of all expenditures made by or on behalf of the 
        political committee or political fund during the reporting 
        period; 
           (i) The amount and nature of any advance of credit incurred 
        by the political committee or political fund, continuously 
        reported until paid or forgiven.  If any advance of credit 
        incurred by the principal campaign committee of a candidate is 
        forgiven at any time by the creditor or paid by any entity other 
        than that principal campaign committee, it shall be reported as 
        a donation in kind for the year in which the advance of credit 
        was incurred; 
           (j) The name and address of each political committee, 
        political fund, or principal campaign committee to which 
        aggregate transfers in excess of $100 have been made within the 
        year, together with the amount and date of each transfer; 
           (k) The sum of all transfers made by the political 
        committee, political fund, or principal campaign committee 
        during the reporting period; 
           (l) Except for contributions to a candidate or committee 
        for a candidate for office in a municipality as defined in 
        section 471.345, subdivision 1, the name and address of each 
        individual or association to whom aggregate noncampaign 
        disbursements in excess of $100 have been made within the year 
        by or on behalf of a principal campaign committee, political 
        committee, or political fund, together with the amount, date, 
        and purpose of each noncampaign disbursement; 
           (m) The sum of all noncampaign disbursements made within 
        the year by or on behalf of a principal campaign committee, 
        political committee, or political fund; and 
           (n) The name and address of a nonprofit corporation that 
        provides administrative assistance to a political committee or 
        political fund as authorized by section 211B.15, subdivision 17, 
        together with the type of administrative assistance provided and 
        the aggregate fair market value of each type of assistance 
        provided to the political committee or political fund during the 
        reporting period; and 
           (o) A report filed under subdivision 2, clause (b), by a 
        political committee or political fund that is subject to 
        subdivision 14, must contain the information required by 
        subdivision 14, if the political committee or political fund has 
        solicited and caused others to make aggregate contributions 
        greater than $5,000 between January 1 of the general election 
        year and the end of the reporting period.  This disclosure 
        requirement is in addition to the report required by subdivision 
        14. 
           Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 10A.25, 
        subdivision 10, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 10.  [EFFECT OF OPPONENT'S AGREEMENT CONDUCT.] (a) 
        The expenditure limits imposed by this section apply only to 
        candidates whose major political party opponents agree to be 
        bound by the limits and who themselves agree to be bound by the 
        limits as a condition of receiving a public subsidy for their 
        campaigns.  
           (b) A candidate who agrees to be bound by the limits and 
        receives a public subsidy, who has an opponent who:  
           (1) is a candidate of a major political party; and (2) does 
        not agree to be bound by the limits but is otherwise eligible to 
        receive a public subsidy: 
           (i) is no longer bound by the limits, including those in 
        section 10A.324, subdivision 1, paragraph (c); 
           (ii) is eligible to receive a public subsidy; and 
           (iii) also receives, or shares equally with any other 
        candidate who agrees to be bound by limits, the opponent's share 
        of the general account public subsidy under section 10A.31. 
           For purposes of this subdivision, "otherwise eligible to 
        receive a public subsidy" means that a candidate meets the 
        requirements of sections 10A.31, 10A.315, 10A.321, and 10A.322, 
        but does not mean that the candidate has filed an affidavit of 
        matching funds under section 10A.323.  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 is released from the expenditure limits but 
        remains eligible to receive a public subsidy if the candidate 
        has an opponent who does not agree to be bound by the limits and 
        receives contributions or makes or becomes obligated to make 
        expenditures during that election cycle in excess of the 
        following limits: 
           (1) up to ten days 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 ten days 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. 
           (b) A candidate who has not agreed to be bound by 
        expenditure limits, or the candidate's principal campaign 
        committee, shall 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), 
        clause (2).  The notice must state 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), clause 
        (2).  Upon receipt of the notice the candidate who has agreed to 
        be bound by the limits is no longer bound by the expenditure 
        limits. 
           Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 211B.15, 
        subdivision 15, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 15.  [NONPROFIT CORPORATION EXEMPTION.] The 
        prohibitions in this section do not apply to a nonprofit 
        corporation that: 
           (1) cannot engage in is not organized or operating for the 
        principal purpose of conducting a business activities; 
           (2) has no shareholders or other persons affiliated so as 
        to have a claim on its assets or earnings; and 
           (3) was not established by a business corporation or a 
        labor union and has a policy not to accept significant 
        contributions from those entities. 
           Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 211B.15, is 
        amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
           Subd. 17.  [NONPROFIT CORPORATION POLITICAL ACTIVITY.] It 
        is not a violation of this section for a nonprofit corporation 
        to provide administrative assistance to one political committee 
        or political fund that is associated with the nonprofit 
        corporation and registered with the ethical practices board 
        under section 10A.14.  Such assistance must be limited to 
        accounting, clerical or legal services, bank charges, utilities, 
        office space, and supplies.  The records of the political 
        committee or political fund may be kept on the premises of the 
        nonprofit corporation. 
           The administrative assistance provided by the nonprofit 
        corporation to the political committee or political fund is 
        limited annually to the lesser of $5,000 or 7-1/2 percent of the 
        expenditures of the political committee or political fund. 
           Sec. 5.  [REPEALER.] 
           Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 10A.324, subdivision 5, is 
        repealed. 
           Sec. 6.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
           This act is effective the day following final enactment. 
           Presented to the governor April 4, 1996 
           Signed by the governor April 11, 1996, 12:10 p.m.