1998 Minnesota Statutes

     10A.25 Limits on campaign expenditures. 

    Subdivision 1.    Governor and lieutenant governor 
 candidates.  For the purposes of sections 10A.11 to 10A.34 a 
 candidate for governor and a candidate for lieutenant governor, 
 running together, shall be deemed to be a single candidate.  
 Except as provided in subdivision 3, all expenditures made by 
 and all approved expenditures made on behalf of the candidate 
 for lieutenant governor shall be considered to be expenditures 
 by and approved expenditures on behalf of the candidate for 
 governor. 

    Subd. 2.    Maximum expenditures.  (a) In a year in 
 which an election is held for an office sought by a candidate, 
 no expenditures shall be made by the principal campaign 
 committee of that candidate, nor any approved expenditures made 
 on behalf of that candidate which expenditures and approved 
 expenditures result in an aggregate amount in excess of the 
 following: 

    (1) for governor and lieutenant governor, running together, 
 $1,626,691; 

    (2) for attorney general, $271,116; 

    (3) for secretary of state, state treasurer, and state 
 auditor, separately, $135,559; 

    (4) for state senator, $40,669; 

    (5) for state representative, $20,335. 

    (b) If a special election cycle occurs during a general 
 election cycle, expenditures by or on behalf of a candidate in 
 the special election do not count as expenditures by or on 
 behalf of the candidate in the general election. 

    (c) The expenditure limits in this subdivision for an 
 office are increased by ten percent for a candidate who is 
 running for that office for the first time and who has not run 
 previously for any other office whose territory now includes a 
 population that is more than one-third of the population in the 
 territory of the new office. 

    Subd. 2a.    Aggregated expenditures.  If a candidate 
 makes expenditures from more than one principal campaign 
 committee for nomination or election to statewide office in the 
 same election year, the amount of expenditures from all of the 
 candidate's principal campaign committees for statewide office 
 for that election year must be aggregated for purposes of the 
 application of the limits on campaign expenditures under 
 subdivision 2, clauses (a) to (c). 

    Subd. 3.    Endorsement of lieutenant governor.  
 Notwithstanding subdivision 2, clause (a), a candidate for 
 endorsement for the office of lieutenant governor at the 
 convention of a political party may make expenditures and 
 approved expenditures of $30,000 or five percent of the amount 
 in subdivision 2, clause (a), whichever is greater, to seek 
 endorsement.  This amount shall be in addition to the amount 
 which may be expended pursuant to subdivision 2, clause (a). 

    Subd. 4.    Expenditures before February 28, 1978.  The 
 limits prescribed in this section shall not apply to any 
 expenditure or approved expenditure made or advance of credit 
 incurred before February 28, 1978 unless the goods or services 
 for which they were made or incurred are consumed or used after 
 February 28, 1978. 

    Subd. 5.    Primary races.  Notwithstanding the limits 
 imposed by subdivision 2, the winning candidate in a contested 
 race in a primary who received fewer than twice as many votes as 
 any one of the candidate's opponents in that primary may make 
 aggregate expenditures and approved expenditures equal to 120 
 percent of the applicable amount as set forth in subdivision 2, 
 as adjusted by section 10A.255.  A candidate in a contested 
 primary race may not, under this subdivision, make aggregate 
 expenditures and approved expenditures of more than 100 percent 
 of the expenditure limits imposed by subdivision 2 until after 
 the primary. 

    Subd. 6.    Limit in nonelection year.  In any year 
 before an election year for the office held or sought, the 
 aggregate amount of expenditures by and approved expenditures on 
 behalf of a candidate for or holder of that office shall not 
 exceed 20 percent of the expenditure limit set forth in 
 subdivision 2. 

    Subd. 7.    Publication of expenditure limits.  On or 
 before December 31 of each nonelection year the board shall 
 determine and publish in the State Register the expenditure 
 limits for each office for the next calendar year as prescribed 
 by subdivision 2. 

    Subd. 8.  Repealed, 1978 c 463 s 109 

    Subd. 9.  Repealed, 1978 c 463 s 109 

    Subd. 10.    Effect of opponent's conduct.  (a) 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. 

    Subd. 11.    Carryforward; disposition of other funds.  
 After all campaign expenditures and noncampaign disbursements 
 for an election cycle have been made, an amount up to 50 percent 
 of the expenditure limit for the office may be carried forward.  
 Any remaining amount up to the total amount of the public 
 subsidy from the state elections campaign fund and any public 
 matching subsidy must be returned to the state treasury for 
 credit to the general fund under section 10A.324.  Any remaining 
 amount in excess of the total public subsidy must be contributed 
 to the state elections campaign fund or a political party for 
 multicandidate expenditures as defined in section 10A.275. 

    Subd. 12.    Unused postage and credit balances carried 
 forward.  Postage that is purchased but not used during an 
 election cycle and credit balances at vendors that exceed a 
 combined total of $500 must be carried forward and counted as 
 expenditures during the election cycle during which they are 
 used. 

    Subd. 13.    Independent expenditures; limits increased. 
  (a) The expenditure limits in this section are increased by 
 the sum of independent expenditures made in opposition to a 
 candidate plus independent expenditures made on behalf of the 
 candidate's major political party opponents, other than 
 expenditures by an association targeted to inform solely its own 
 dues-paying members of the association's position on a candidate.

    (b) Within 48 hours after receipt of an expenditure report 
 or notice required by section 10A.20, subdivision 3, 6, or 6b, 
 the board shall notify each candidate in the race of the 
 increase in the expenditure limit for the candidates against 
 whom the independent expenditures have been made. 

    (c) Within three days after providing this notice, the 
 board shall pay each candidate against whom the independent 
 expenditures have been made, if the candidate is eligible to 
 receive a public subsidy and has raised twice the minimum match 
 required, an additional public subsidy equal to one-half the 
 independent expenditures.  The amount needed to pay the 
 additional public subsidy under this subdivision is appropriated 
 from the general fund to the board. 

    HIST: 1974 c 470 s 25; 1975 c 271 s 6; 1976 c 307 s 21-23; 
 1978 c 463 s 67-74; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 214 s 5,6; 1988 c 686 art 
 1 s 41; 1988 c 707 s 2; 1990 c 608 art 3 s 11-15; 1991 c 349 s 
 13-15; 1993 c 318 art 2 s 20-25; 1996 c 459 s 2