1997 Minnesota Statutes

     10A.02 Board of campaign finance and public disclosure. 

    Subdivision 1.  There is hereby created a state campaign 
 finance and public disclosure board composed of six members.  
 The members shall be appointed by the governor with the advice 
 and consent of three-fifths of both the senate and the house of 
 representatives acting separately.  If either house fails to 
 confirm the appointment of a board member within 45 legislative 
 days after appointment or by adjournment sine die, whichever 
 occurs first, the appointment shall terminate on the day 
 following the 45th legislative day or on adjournment sine die, 
 whichever occurs first.  If either house votes not to confirm an 
 appointment, the appointment terminates on the day following the 
 vote not to confirm.  One member shall be a former member of the 
 legislature from a major political party different from that of 
 the governor; one member shall be a former member of the 
 legislature from the same political party as the governor; two 
 members shall be persons who have not been public officials, 
 held any political party office other than precinct delegate, or 
 been elected to public office for which party designation is 
 required by statute in the three years preceding the date of 
 their appointment; and the other two members shall not support 
 the same political party.  No more than three of the members of 
 the board shall support the same political party.  No member of 
 the board may currently serve as a lobbyist. 

    Subd. 2.  Any appointment to fill a vacancy shall be made 
 only for the unexpired term of a member who is being replaced 
 and the appointee shall meet the same stated qualifications as 
 the member being replaced.  The membership terms, compensation, 
 and removal of members on the board shall be as provided in 
 section 15.0575, except that the extension of terms and the 
 filling of vacancies shall be subject to the advice and consent 
 of the legislature in the same manner as provided in subdivision 
 1. 

    Subd. 3.  The concurring vote of four members of the board 
 shall be required to decide any matter before the board. 

    Subd. 4.  The board shall elect from among its members a 
 chair, a vice-chair and a secretary.  The secretary shall keep a 
 record of all proceedings and actions by the board.  Meetings of 
 the board shall be at the call of the chair or at the call of 
 any four members of the board acting together. 

    Subd. 5.  The board shall appoint an executive director who 
 shall be in the unclassified service.  The board may also employ 
 and prescribe the duties of other permanent or temporary 
 employees in the unclassified service as may be necessary to 
 administer this chapter, subject to appropriation.  The 
 executive director and all other employees shall serve at the 
 pleasure of the board.  Expenses of the board shall be approved 
 by the chair or such other member as the rules of the board may 
 provide and the expenses shall then be paid in the same manner 
 as other state expenses are paid. 

    Subd. 6.  Repealed, 1976 c 134 s 79 

    Subd. 7.  All members and employees of the board shall be 
 subject to any provisions of law regulating political activity 
 by state employees.  In addition, no member or employee of the 
 board shall be a candidate for, or holder of, (a) a national, 
 state, congressional district, legislative district, county or 
 precinct office in a political party, or (b) an elected public 
 office for which party designation is required by statute. 

    Subd. 8.  The board shall: 

    (a) Report at the close of each fiscal year to the 
 legislature, the governor, and the public concerning the action 
 it has taken, the names, salaries, and duties of all individuals 
 in its employ, and the money it has disbursed.  The board shall 
 include and identify in its report any other reports it has made 
 during the fiscal year.  It may indicate apparent abuses and 
 offer legislative recommendations; 

    (b) Prescribe forms for statements and reports required to 
 be filed under this chapter and make the forms available to 
 individuals required to file them; 

    (c) Make available to the individuals required to file the 
 reports and statements a manual setting forth the recommended 
 uniform methods of bookkeeping and reporting; 

    (d) Develop a filing, coding, and cross-indexing system 
 consistent with the purposes of this chapter; 

    (e) Make the reports and statements filed with it available 
 for public inspection and copying by the end of the second day 
 following the day on which they were received.  Any individual 
 may copy a report or statement by hand or by duplicating machine 
 and the board shall provide duplicating services at cost for 
 this purpose.  No information copied from reports and statements 
 shall be sold or utilized by any individual or association for 
 any commercial purpose.  "Commercial purpose" does not include 
 purposes related to elections, political activities, or law 
 enforcement.  Any individual or association violating the 
 provisions of this clause may be subject to a civil penalty of 
 up to $1,000.  An individual who knowingly violates this 
 subdivision is guilty of a misdemeanor; 

    (f) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 138.163, 
 preserve reports and statements for a period of five years from 
 the date of receipt; 

    (g) Compile and maintain a current list and summary of all 
 statements or parts of statements pertaining to each candidate; 
 and 

    (h) Prepare and publish reports as it may deem appropriate. 

    Subd. 9.    Documents; information.  The executive 
 director of the board or the director's staff shall inspect all 
 material filed with the board as promptly as is necessary to 
 comply with the provisions of this chapter, and other provisions 
 of law requiring the filing of a document with the board.  The 
 executive director shall immediately notify the individual 
 required to file a document with the board if a written 
 complaint is filed with the board by any registered voter 
 alleging, or it otherwise appears, that a document filed with 
 the board is inaccurate or does not comply with the provisions 
 of this chapter, or that the individual has failed to file a 
 document required by this chapter.  The executive director and 
 staff may provide an individual required to file a document 
 under this chapter with factual information concerning the 
 limitations on corporate campaign contributions imposed by 
 section 211B.15. 

    Subd. 10.  The board may make audits and investigations 
 with respect to statements and reports which are filed or which 
 should have been filed under the provisions of this chapter.  In 
 all matters relating to its official duties, the board shall 
 have the power to issue subpoenas and cause them to be served.  
 If a person does not comply with a subpoena, the board may apply 
 to the district court of Ramsey county for issuance of an order 
 compelling obedience to the subpoena.  A person failing to obey 
 the order is punishable by the court as for contempt. 

    Subd. 11.  The board may investigate any alleged violation 
 of this chapter.  The board shall investigate any violation 
 which is alleged in a written complaint filed with the board 
 and, except for alleged violations of section 10A.25 or 10A.27, 
 shall within 30 days after the filing of the complaint make a 
 public finding of whether or not there is probable cause to 
 believe a violation has occurred.  In the case of a written 
 complaint alleging a violation of section 10A.25 or 10A.27, the 
 board shall either enter a conciliation agreement or make a 
 public finding of whether or not there is probable cause, within 
 60 days of the filing of the complaint.  The deadline for action 
 on any written complaint may be extended by majority vote of the 
 board.  Within a reasonable time after beginning an 
 investigation of an individual or association, the board shall 
 notify that individual or association of the fact of the 
 investigation.  The board shall make no finding of whether or 
 not there is probable cause to believe a violation has occurred 
 without notifying the individual or association of the nature of 
 the allegations and affording an opportunity to answer those 
 allegations.  Any hearing or action of the board concerning any 
 complaint or investigation other than a finding concerning 
 probable cause or a conciliation agreement shall be 
 confidential.  Until the board makes a public finding concerning 
 probable cause or enters a conciliation agreement: 

    (a) No member, employee, or agent of the board shall 
 disclose to any individual any information obtained by that 
 member, employee, or agent concerning any complaint or 
 investigation except as required to carry out the investigation 
 or take action in the matter as authorized by this chapter; and 

    (b) Any individual who discloses information contrary to 
 the provisions of this subdivision shall be guilty of a 
 misdemeanor.  Except as provided in section 10A.28, after the 
 board makes a public finding of probable cause the board shall 
 report that finding to the appropriate law enforcement 
 authorities. 

    Subd. 11a.  If, after making a public finding concerning 
 probable cause or entering a conciliation agreement, the board 
 determines that the record of the investigation contains 
 statements, documents or other matter which if disclosed would 
 unfairly injure the reputation of an innocent individual, the 
 board may: 

    (a) Retain any such statement, document or other matter as 
 a private record, as "private" is defined in section 13.02, 
 subdivision 12, for a period of one year after which it shall be 
 destroyed; or 

    (b) Return any such statement, document or other matter to 
 the individual who supplied it to the board. 

    Subd. 12.    Advisory opinions.  (a) The board may issue 
 and publish advisory opinions on the requirements of this 
 chapter based upon real or hypothetical situations.  An 
 application for an advisory opinion may be made only by an 
 individual or association who wishes to use the opinion to guide 
 the individual's or the association's own conduct.  The board 
 shall issue written opinions on all such questions submitted to 
 it within 30 days after receipt of written application, unless a 
 majority of the board agrees to extend the time limit.  

    (b) A written advisory opinion issued by the board is 
 binding on the board in any subsequent board proceeding 
 concerning the person making or covered by the request and is a 
 defense in a judicial proceeding that involves the subject 
 matter of the opinion and is brought against the person making 
 or covered by the request unless: 

    (1) the board has amended or revoked the opinion before the 
 initiation of the board or judicial proceeding, has notified the 
 person making or covered by the request of its action, and has 
 allowed at least 30 days for the person to do anything that 
 might be necessary to comply with the amended or revoked 
 opinion; 

    (2) the request has omitted or misstated material facts; or 

    (3) the person making or covered by the request has not 
 acted in good faith in reliance on the opinion. 

    (c) A request for an opinion and the opinion itself are 
 nonpublic data.  The board, however, may publish an opinion or a 
 summary of an opinion, but may not include in the publication 
 the name of the requester, the name of a person covered by a 
 request from an agency or political subdivision, or any other 
 information that might identify the requester unless the person 
 consents to the inclusion. 

    Subd. 12a.    Rules.  If the board intends to apply 
 principles of law or policy announced in an advisory opinion 
 issued under subdivision 12 more broadly than to the individual 
 or association to whom the opinion was issued, the board must 
 adopt these principles or policies as rules under chapter 14. 

    Subd. 13.  The provisions of chapter 14 apply to the 
 board.  The board may adopt rules to carry out the purposes of 
 this chapter. 

    Subd. 14.  Notwithstanding the provisions of section 8.15, 
 the board must not be assessed the cost of legal services 
 rendered to it by the attorney general's office. 

    HIST: 1974 c 470 s 2; 1975 c 271 s 6; 1976 c 134 s 5; 1976 c 
 307 s 5-8; 1978 c 463 s 19-27; 1978 c 793 s 36; 1981 c 311 s 39; 
 1982 c 424 s 130; 1982 c 545 s 24; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 214 s 1; 
 1989 c 291 art 1 s 1; 1990 c 608 art 1 s 6; 1991 c 233 s 36; 
 1991 c 349 s 3-8; 1994 c 377 s 1; 1994 c 629 s 5; 1997 c 202 art 
 2 s 63