1997 Minnesota Statutes

     10A.31 Designation of income tax payments. 

    Subdivision 1.  Every individual resident of Minnesota who 
 files an income tax return or a renter and homeowner property 
 tax refund return with the commissioner of revenue may designate 
 on their original return that $5 shall be paid from the general 
 fund of the state into the state elections campaign fund.  If a 
 husband and wife file a joint return, each spouse may designate 
 that $5 shall be paid.  No individual shall be allowed to 
 designate $5 more than once in any year. 

    Subd. 2.  The taxpayer may designate that the amount 
 designated be paid into the account of a political party or into 
 the general account. 

    Subd. 3.    Form.  The commissioner of the department of 
 revenue shall provide on the first page of the income tax form 
 and the renter and homeowner property tax refund return a space 
 for the individual to indicate a wish to allocate $5 ($10 if 
 filing a joint return) from the general fund of the state to 
 finance election campaigns.  The form shall also contain 
 language prepared by the commissioner which permits the 
 individual to direct the state to allocate the $5 (or $10 if 
 filing a joint return) to:  (i) one of the major political 
 parties; (ii) any minor political party as defined in section 
 10A.01, subdivision 13, which qualifies under the provisions of 
 subdivision 3a; or (iii) all qualifying candidates as provided 
 by subdivision 7.  The renter and homeowner property tax refund 
 return shall include instructions that the individual filing the 
 return may designate $5 on the return only if the individual has 
 not designated $5 on the income tax return. 

    Subd. 3a.    Qualification of political parties.  A 
 major political party as defined in section 10A.01, subdivision 
 12, qualifies for inclusion on the income tax form and property 
 tax refund return as provided in subdivision 3, provided that it 
 qualifies as a major political party by July 1 of the taxable 
 year. 

    A minor political party as defined in section 10A.01, 
 subdivision 13 qualifies for inclusion on the income tax form 
 and property tax refund return as provided in subdivision 3, 
 provided that 

    (1)(a) if a petition is filed, it is filed by June 1 of the 
 taxable year; or 

    (b) if the party ran a candidate for statewide office, that 
 office must have been the office of governor and lieutenant 
 governor, secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer, or 
 attorney general; and 

    (2) the secretary of state certifies to the commissioner of 
 revenue by July 1, 1984, and by July 1 of every odd-numbered 
 year thereafter the parties which qualify as minor political 
 parties under this subdivision.  

    A minor party shall be certified only if the secretary of 
 state determines that the party satisfies the following 
 conditions:  

    (a) the party meets the requirements of section 10A.01, 
 subdivision 13, and in the last applicable election ran a 
 candidate for the statewide offices listed in clause (1)(b) of 
 this subdivision; 

    (b) it is a political party, not a principal campaign 
 committee; 

    (c) it has held a state convention in the last two years, 
 adopted a state constitution, and elected state officers; and 

    (d) an officer of the party has filed with the secretary of 
 state a certification that the party held a state convention in 
 the last two years, adopted a state constitution, and elected 
 state officers. 

    Subd. 4.  (a) The amounts designated by individuals for the 
 state elections campaign fund, less three percent, are 
 appropriated from the general fund and shall be credited to the 
 appropriate account in the state elections campaign fund and 
 annually appropriated for distribution as set forth in 
 subdivisions 5, 6 and 7.  An amount equal to three percent shall 
 be retained in the general fund for administrative costs.  

    (b) In addition to the amounts in paragraph (a), $1,500,000 
 for each general election is appropriated from the general fund 
 to the general account of the state elections campaign fund. 

    Subd. 5.  In each calendar year the money in the general 
 account shall be allocated to candidates as follows: 

    (1) 21 percent for the offices of governor and lieutenant 
 governor together; 

    (2) 3.6 percent for the office of attorney general; 

    (3) 1.8 percent each for the offices of secretary of state, 
 state auditor, and state treasurer; 

    (4) In each calendar year during the period in which state 
 senators serve a four-year term, 23-1/3 percent for the office 
 of state senator, and 46-2/3 percent for the office of state 
 representative; 

    (5) In each calendar year during the period in which state 
 senators serve a two-year term, 35 percent each for the offices 
 of state senator and state representative. 

    In each calendar year the money in each party account shall 
 be allocated as follows: 

    (1) 14 percent for the offices of governor and lieutenant 
 governor together; 

    (2) 2.4 percent for the office of attorney general; 

    (3) 1.2 percent each for the offices of secretary of state, 
 state auditor, and state treasurer; 

    (4) In each calendar year during the period in which state 
 senators serve a four-year term, 23-1/3 percent for the office 
 of state senator, and 46-2/3 percent for the office of state 
 representative; 

    (5) In each calendar year during the period in which state 
 senators serve a two-year term, 35 percent each for the offices 
 of state senator and state representative; 

    (6) Ten percent for the state committee of a political 
 party; money allocated to each state committee under this clause 
 must be deposited in a separate account and must be spent for 
 only those items enumerated in section 10A.275; money allocated 
 to a state committee under this clause must be paid to the 
 committee by the state treasurer as notified by the state 
 campaign finance and public disclosure board as it is received 
 in the account on a monthly basis, with payment on the 15th day 
 of the calendar month following the month in which the returns 
 were processed by the department of revenue, provided that these 
 distributions would be equal to 90 percent of the amount of 
 money indicated in the department of revenue's weekly unedited 
 reports of income tax returns and property tax refund returns 
 processed in the month, as notified by the department of revenue 
 to the state campaign finance and public disclosure board.  The 
 amounts paid to each state committee are subject to biennial 
 adjustment and settlement at the time of each certification 
 required of the commissioner of revenue under subdivisions 7 and 
 10.  If the total amount of payments received by a state 
 committee for the period reflected on a certification by the 
 department of revenue is different from the amount that should 
 have been received during the period according to the 
 certification, each subsequent monthly payment must be increased 
 or decreased to the fullest extent possible until the amount of 
 the overpayment is recovered or the underpayment is distributed. 

    To assure that moneys will be returned to the counties from 
 which they were collected, and to assure that the distribution 
 of those moneys rationally relates to the support for particular 
 parties or for particular candidates within legislative 
 districts, money from the party accounts for legislative 
 candidates shall be distributed as follows: 

    Each candidate for the state senate and state house of 
 representatives whose name is to appear on the ballot in the 
 general election shall receive money from the candidate's party 
 account set aside for candidates of the state senate or state 
 house of representatives, whichever applies, according to the 
 following formula; 

    For each county within the candidate's district the 
 candidate's share of the dollars allocated in that county to the 
 candidate's party account and set aside for that office shall be:

    (a) The sum of the votes cast in the last general election 
 in that part of the county in the candidate's district for all 
 candidates of that candidate's party (i) whose names appeared on 
 the ballot in each voting precinct of the state and (ii) for the 
 state senate and state house of representatives, divided by 

    (b) The sum of the votes cast in that county in the last 
 general election for all candidates of that candidate's party 
 (i) whose names appeared on the ballot in each voting precinct 
 in the state and (ii) for the state senate and state house of 
 representatives, multiplied by 

    (c) The amount in the candidate's party account allocated 
 in that county and set aside for the candidates for the office 
 for which the candidate is running. 

    The sum of all the county shares calculated in the formula 
 above is the candidate's share of the candidate's party account. 

    In a year in which an election for the state senate occurs, 
 with respect to votes for candidates for the state senate only, 
 "last general election" means the last general election in which 
 an election for the state senate occurred. 

    For any party under whose name no candidate's name appeared 
 on the ballot in each voting precinct in the state in the last 
 general election, amounts in the party's account shall be 
 allocated based on (a) the number of people voting in the last 
 general election in that part of the county in the candidate's 
 district, divided by (b) the number of the people voting in that 
 county in the last general election, multiplied by (c) the 
 amount in the candidate's party account allocated in that county 
 and set aside for the candidates for the office for which the 
 candidate is running. 

    In a year in which the first election after a legislative 
 reapportionment is held, "the candidate's district" means the 
 newly drawn district, and voting data from the last general 
 election will be applied to the area encompassing the newly 
 drawn district notwithstanding that the area was in a different 
 district in the last general election. 

    If in a district there was no candidate of a party for the 
 state senate or state house of representatives in the last 
 general election, or if a candidate for the state senate or 
 state house of representatives was unopposed, the vote for that 
 office for that party shall be the average vote of all the 
 remaining candidates of that party in each county of that 
 district whose votes are included in the sums in clauses (a) and 
 (b).  The average vote shall be added to the sums in clauses (a) 
 and (b) before the calculation is made for all districts in the 
 county. 

    Money from a party account not distributed to candidates 
 for state senator and representative in any election year shall 
 be returned to the general fund of the state.  Money from a 
 party account not distributed to candidates for other offices in 
 an election year shall be returned to the party account for 
 reallocation to candidates as provided in clauses (1) to (6) in 
 the following year.  Money from the general account refused by 
 any candidate shall be distributed to all other qualifying 
 candidates in proportion to their shares as provided in this 
 subdivision.  

    Subd. 6.  As soon as the board has obtained from the 
 secretary of state the results of the primary election, but in 
 any event no later than one week after certification by the 
 state canvassing board of the results of the primary, the board 
 shall distribute the available funds in each party account, as 
 certified by the commissioner of revenue on September 1, to the 
 candidates of that party who have signed the agreement as 
 provided in section 10A.322 and filed the affidavit required by 
 section 10A.323, and whose names are to appear on the ballot in 
 the general election, according to the allocations set forth in 
 subdivision 5.  If a candidate files the affidavit required by 
 section 10A.323 after September 1 of the general election year, 
 the board shall pay the candidate's allocation to the candidate 
 at the next regular payment date for public subsidies for that 
 election cycle that occurs at least 15 days after the candidate 
 files the affidavit. 

    Subd. 7.  Within two weeks after certification by the state 
 canvassing board of the results of the general election, the 
 board shall distribute the available funds in the general 
 account, as certified by the commissioner of revenue on November 
 1 and according to allocations set forth in subdivision 5, in 
 equal amounts to all candidates for each statewide office who 
 received at least five percent of the votes cast in the general 
 election for that office, and to all candidates for legislative 
 office who received at least ten percent of the votes cast in 
 the general election for the specific office for which they were 
 candidates, provided that the public subsidy under this 
 subdivision may not be paid in an amount that would cause the 
 sum of the public subsidy paid from the party account plus the 
 public subsidy paid from the general account and the public 
 subsidy paid to match independent expenditures to exceed 50 
 percent of the expenditure limit for the candidate.  If a 
 candidate is entitled to receive an opponent's share of the 
 general account public subsidy under section 10A.25, subdivision 
 10, the opponent's share must be excluded in calculating the 50 
 percent limit.  Money from the general account not paid to a 
 candidate because of the 50 percent limit must be distributed 
 equally among all other qualifying candidates for the same 
 office until all have reached the 50 percent limit or the 
 balance in the general account is exhausted.  The board shall 
 not use the information contained in the report of the principal 
 campaign committee of any candidate due ten days before the 
 general election for the purpose of reducing the amount due that 
 candidate from the general account. 

    Subd. 8. Repealed, 1993 c 318 art 2 s 51 

    Subd. 9. Repealed, 1993 c 318 art 2 s 51 

    Subd. 10.    Distribution.  In the event that on the 
 date of either certification by the commissioner of revenue as 
 provided in subdivisions 6 and 7, less than 98 percent of the 
 tax returns have been processed, the commissioner of revenue 
 shall certify to the board by December 1 the amount accumulated 
 in each account since the previous certification.  By December 
 15, the board shall distribute to each candidate according to 
 the allocations as provided in subdivision 5 the amounts to 
 which the candidates are entitled in the form of checks made 
 "payable to the campaign fund of ......(name of 
 candidate)......."  Any money accumulated after the final 
 certification shall be maintained in the respective accounts for 
 distribution in the next general election year. 

    Subd. 11.  For the purposes of this section, a write-in 
 candidate is a candidate only upon complying with the provisions 
 of section 10A.322, subdivision 1. 

    Subd. 12.    Unopposed candidate not eligible.  A 
 candidate who is unopposed in both the primary election and the 
 general election is not eligible to receive a public subsidy 
 from the state election campaign fund.  The subsidy from the 
 party account the candidate would otherwise have been eligible 
 to receive must be paid to the candidate's political party to be 
 deposited in a special account under section 10A.31, subdivision 
 5, clause (6), and used for only those items permitted under 
 section 10A.275.  

    HIST: 1974 c 470 s 31; 1975 c 271 s 6; 1976 c 307 s 26-33; 
 1978 c 463 s 87-95; 1980 c 587 art 3 s 4-6; 1981 c 343 s 1; 1982 
 c 523 art 5 s 1; 1983 c 216 art 1 s 2; 1984 c 502 art 2 s 1,2; 
 1984 c 514 art 2 s 1; 1985 c 248 s 3; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 1 s 1,2; 
 1986 c 444; 1987 c 268 art 1 s 1-3; 1988 c 686 art 1 s 42; 
 1Sp1989 c 1 art 10 s 1; 1990 c 480 art 5 s 1; 1991 c 199 art 2 s 
 1; 1991 c 349 s 19,20; 1992 c 513 art 3 s 20; 1993 c 13 art 2 s 
 1; 1993 c 318 art 2 s 33-36; 1Sp1993 c 3 s 3,4; 1996 c 471 art 1 
 s 1; 1997 c 202 art 2 s 63