2013 Minnesota Statutes

10A.025 FILING REQUIREMENTS.

Subdivision 1.Filing date.

If a scheduled filing date under this chapter falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the filing date is the next regular business day.

Subd. 1a.Electronic filing.

A report or statement required to be filed under this chapter may be filed electronically. The board shall adopt rules to regulate electronic filing and to ensure that the electronic filing process is secure.

Subd. 2.Penalty for false statements.

(a) A report or statement required to be filed under this chapter must be signed and certified as true by the individual required to file the report. The signature may be an electronic signature consisting of a password assigned by the board.

(b) An individual shall not sign and certify to be true a report or statement knowing it contains false information or knowing it omits required information.

(c) An individual shall not knowingly provide false or incomplete information to a treasurer with the intent that the treasurer will rely on that information in signing and certifying to be true a report or statement.

(d) A person who violates paragraph (b) or (c) is subject to a civil penalty imposed by the board of up to $3,000. A violation of paragraph (b) or (c) is a gross misdemeanor.

(e) The board may impose an additional civil penalty of up to $3,000 on the principal campaign committee or candidate, party unit, political committee, or association that has a political fund that is affiliated with an individual who violated paragraph (b) or (c).

Subd. 3.Record keeping; penalty.

(a) A person required to file a report or statement or who has accepted record-keeping responsibility for the filer must maintain records on the matters required to be reported, including vouchers, canceled checks, bills, invoices, worksheets, and receipts, that will provide in sufficient detail the necessary information from which the filed reports and statements may be verified, explained, clarified, and checked for accuracy and completeness. The person must keep the records available for audit, inspection, or examination by the board or its authorized representatives for four years from the date of filing of the reports or statements or of changes or corrections to them.

(b) The board may impose a civil penalty of up to $3,000 on a person who knowingly violates this subdivision. The board may impose a separate civil penalty of up to $3,000 on the principal campaign committee or candidate, party unit, political committee, or association that has a political fund that is affiliated with an individual who violated this subdivision.

(c) A knowing violation of this subdivision is a misdemeanor.

Subd. 4.Changes and corrections.

Material changes in information previously submitted and corrections to a report or statement must be reported in writing to the board within ten days following the date of the event prompting the change or the date upon which the person filing became aware of the inaccuracy. The change or correction must identify the form and the paragraph containing the information to be changed or corrected.

A person who willfully fails to report a material change or correction is subject to a civil penalty imposed by the board of up to $3,000. A willful violation of this subdivision is a gross misdemeanor.

The board must send a notice by certified mail to any individual who fails to file a report required by this subdivision. If the individual fails to file the required report within ten business days after the notice was sent, the board may impose a late filing fee of $5 per day up to $100 starting on the 11th day after the notice was sent. The board must send an additional notice by certified mail to an individual who fails to file a report within 14 days after the first notice was sent by the board that the individual may be subject to a civil penalty for failure to file a report. An individual who fails to file a report required by this subdivision within seven days after the second notice was sent by the board is subject to a civil penalty imposed by the board of up to $1,000.

History:

1974 c 470 s 10,22,23; 1975 c 271 s 6; 1976 c 307 s 20; 1978 c 463 s 38; 1986 c 444; 1990 c 608 art 3 s 8; 1999 c 220 s 3,13,24,26,50; 2002 c 363 s 3,4; 1Sp2003 c 1 art 2 s 20; 2005 c 156 art 6 s 3; 2013 c 138 art 1 s 16,17; art 3 s 2