1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to campaign finance; local property tax or 
  1.3             sales tax referenda; requiring reports to the campaign 
  1.4             finance and public disclosure board; prohibiting 
  1.5             spending public money to advocate a tax increase; 
  1.6             providing certain guidelines for ballot preparation; 
  1.7             amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 123B.02, by 
  1.8             adding a subdivision; and 204B.36, subdivision 3; 
  1.9             Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 10A.01, 
  1.10            subdivision 7; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.11            Minnesota Statutes, chapter 465.  
  1.12  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.13     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
  1.14  10A.01, subdivision 7, is amended to read: 
  1.15     Subd. 7.  [BALLOT QUESTION.] "Ballot question" means: 
  1.16     (1) a question or proposition that is placed on the ballot 
  1.17  and that may be voted on by all voters of the state; or 
  1.18     (2) a question or proposition relating to property or sales 
  1.19  tax to be placed on the ballot and voted on by the voters of one 
  1.20  or more political subdivisions but not by all the voters of the 
  1.21  state. 
  1.22     "Promoting or defeating a ballot question" includes 
  1.23  activities related to qualifying the question for placement on 
  1.24  the ballot.  
  1.25     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 123B.02, is 
  1.26  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.27     Subd. 7a.  [PROHIBITION ON SPENDING PUBLIC MONEY TO 
  1.28  ADVOCATE TAX INCREASE.] A school district may budget for and 
  2.1   spend public money to educate the voters of facts pertinent to a 
  2.2   proposed increase in the property tax levy or tax rate.  A 
  2.3   school district shall not, however, budget for or spend public 
  2.4   money to advocate for passage of an increase in the property tax 
  2.5   levy or tax rate. 
  2.6      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 204B.36, 
  2.7   subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  2.8      Subd. 3.  [QUESTION; FORM OF BALLOT.] When a question is to 
  2.9   be submitted to a vote, a concise statement of the nature of the 
  2.10  question shall be printed on the ballot.  Each question must be 
  2.11  limited to a single subject.  The words, "YES" and "NO" shall be 
  2.12  printed to the left of this statement, with a square to the left 
  2.13  of each word so that the voter may indicate by a mark (X) either 
  2.14  a negative or affirmative vote.  The ballot shall include 
  2.15  instructions directing the voter to put an (X) in the square 
  2.16  before the word "YES" if the voter desires to vote for the 
  2.17  question, or to put an (X) before the word "NO" if the voter 
  2.18  desires to vote against the question.  
  2.19     Sec. 4.  [465.585] [PROHIBITION OF SPENDING PUBLIC MONEY TO 
  2.20  ADVOCATE TAX INCREASE.] 
  2.21     The governing body of a political subdivision may budget 
  2.22  for and spend public money to educate the voters of facts 
  2.23  pertinent to a proposed local option sales tax or increase in 
  2.24  the property tax levy or tax rate.  The governing body of a 
  2.25  political subdivision shall not, however, budget for or spend 
  2.26  public money to advocate for passage of a local option sales tax 
  2.27  or an increase in the property tax levy or tax rate.