An individual must file a statement of economic interest with the board:
(1) within 60 days of accepting employment as a public official or a local official in a metropolitan governmental unit;
(2) within 60 days of assuming office as a district court judge, appeals court judge, Supreme Court justice, or county commissioner;
(3) within 14 days after filing an affidavit of candidacy or petition to appear on the ballot for an elective state constitutional or legislative office or an elective local office in a metropolitan governmental unit other than county commissioner;
(4) in the case of a public official requiring the advice and consent of the senate, within 14 days after undertaking the duties of office; or
(5) in the case of members of the Minnesota Racing Commission, the director of the Minnesota Racing Commission, chief of security, medical officer, inspector of pari-mutuels, and stewards employed or approved by the commission or persons who fulfill those duties under contract, within 60 days of accepting or assuming duties.
Notwithstanding subdivision 1, a retired judge or justice appointed to serve as a judge or justice under section 2.724 is not required to comply with the provisions of this section.
The secretary of state or the appropriate county auditor, upon receiving an affidavit of candidacy or petition to appear on the ballot from an individual required by this section to file a statement of economic interest, and any official who nominates or employs a public or local official required by this section to file a statement of economic interest, must notify the board of the name of the individual required to file a statement and the date of the affidavit, petition, or nomination.
The board must notify the presiding officer of the house that will approve or disapprove the nomination, of the name of an individual who has filed a statement of economic interest with the board, a copy of the statement, and the date on which the statement was filed.
(a) A statement of economic interest required by this section must be on a form prescribed by the board. The individual filing must provide the following information:
(1) name, address, occupation, and principal place of business;
(2) the name of each associated business and the nature of that association;
(3) a listing of all real property within the state, excluding homestead property, in which the individual holds: (i) a fee simple interest, a mortgage, a contract for deed as buyer or seller, or an option to buy, whether direct or indirect, if the interest is valued in excess of $2,500; or (ii) an option to buy, if the property has a fair market value of more than $50,000;
(4) a listing of all real property within the state in which a partnership of which the individual is a member holds: (i) a fee simple interest, a mortgage, a contract for deed as buyer or seller, or an option to buy, whether direct or indirect, if the individual's share of the partnership interest is valued in excess of $2,500; or (ii) an option to buy, if the property has a fair market value of more than $50,000. A listing under this clause or clause (3) must indicate the street address and the municipality or the section, township, range and approximate acreage, whichever applies, and the county in which the property is located;
(5) a listing of any investments, ownership, or interests in property connected with pari-mutuel horse racing in the United States and Canada, including a racehorse, in which the individual directly or indirectly holds a partial or full interest or an immediate family member holds a partial or full interest;
(6) a listing of the principal business or professional activity category of each business from which the individual receives more than $50 in any month as an employee, if the individual has an ownership interest of 25 percent or more in the business; and
(7) a listing of each principal business or professional activity category from which the individual received compensation of more than $2,500 in the past 12 months as an independent contractor.
(b) The business or professional categories for purposes of paragraph (a), clauses (6) and (7), must be the general topic headings used by the federal Internal Revenue Service for purposes of reporting self-employment income on Schedule C. This paragraph does not require an individual to report any specific code number from that schedule. Any additional principal business or professional activity category may only be adopted if the category is enacted by law.
Each individual who is required to file a statement of economic interest must also file an annual statement by the last Monday in January of each year that the individual remains in office. The annual statement must cover the period through December 31 of the year prior to the year when the statement is due. The annual statement must include the amount of each honorarium in excess of $50 received since the previous statement and the name and address of the source of the honorarium. The board must maintain each annual statement of economic interest submitted by an officeholder in the same file with the statement submitted as a candidate.
A public official required to file a statement under this section must file it with the board. A local official required to file a statement under this section must file it with the governing body of the official's political subdivision. The governing body must maintain statements filed with it under this subdivision as public data. If an official position is defined as both a public official and as a local official of a metropolitan governmental unit under this chapter, the official must file the statement with the board.
If an individual fails to file a statement of economic interest required by this section within ten business days after the statement was due, the board may impose a late filing fee of $5 per day, not to exceed $100, commencing on the 11th day after the statement was due. The board must send notice by certified mail to any individual who fails to file a statement within ten business days after the statement was due that the individual may be subject to a civil penalty for failure to file a statement. An individual who fails to file a statement within seven days after the certified mail notice was sent by the board is subject to a civil penalty imposed by the board up to $1,000.
Upon written request and for good cause shown, the board may waive the requirement that an official disclose the address of real property that constitutes a secondary residence of the official.
1974 c 470 s 9; 1975 c 271 s 6; 1976 c 307 s 11; 1978 c 463 s 35-37; 1982 c 424 s 130; 1983 c 214 s 30,31; 1983 c 305 s 3,4; 1986 c 444; 1989 c 334 art 6 s 2; 1990 c 608 art 2 s 2-4; 1991 c 233 s 109; 1997 c 202 art 2 s 6; 1999 c 220 s 12,50; 2002 c 363 s 10; 2010 c 327 s 10; 2013 c 138 art 2 s 5,6; 2014 c 309 s 13-16; 2015 c 73 s 4,5,26; 2016 c 158 art 1 s 4
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes