2006 Minnesota Statutes

10A.31 DESIGNATION OF INCOME TAX PAYMENTS.
    Subdivision 1. Designation. An individual resident of this state 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 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 be paid. No individual is allowed to designate $5 more than once in any year.
The taxpayer may designate that the amount be paid into the account of a political party or into
the general account.
    Subd. 2.[Repealed by amendment, 1999 c 220 s 39]
    Subd. 3. Form. The commissioner of revenue must 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 pay $5 ($10 if filing a joint return) from the general fund of the state to finance
election campaigns. The form must also contain language prepared by the commissioner that
permits the individual to direct the state to pay the $5 (or $10 if filing a joint return) to: (1) one of
the major political parties; (2) any minor political party that qualifies under subdivision 3a; or (3)
all qualifying candidates as provided by subdivision 7. The renter and homeowner property tax
refund return must 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) A major political party qualifies for
inclusion on the income tax form and property tax refund return as provided in subdivision 3 if it
qualifies as a major political party by July 1 of the taxable year.
(b) A minor political party qualifies for inclusion on the income tax form and property tax
refund return as provided in subdivision 3 if it qualifies as a minor party statewide by July 1
of the taxable year.
(c) The secretary of state shall notify each major and minor political party by the first
Monday in January of each odd-numbered year of the conditions necessary for the party to
participate in income tax form and property tax refund return programs.
(d) The secretary of state shall notify each political party, the commissioner of revenue,
and the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board by July 1 of each year and following
certification of the results of each general election of the political parties that qualify for inclusion
on the income tax form and property tax refund return as provided in subdivision 3.
    Subd. 4. Appropriation. (a) The amounts designated by individuals for the state elections
campaign fund, less three percent, are appropriated from the general fund, must be transferred
and credited to the appropriate account in the state elections campaign fund, and are annually
appropriated for distribution as set forth in subdivisions 5, 5a, 6, and 7. The remaining three
percent must be kept in the general fund for administrative costs.
(b) In addition to the amounts in paragraph (a), $1,250,000 for each general election is
appropriated from the general fund for transfer to the general account of the state elections
campaign fund.
Of this appropriation, $65,000 each fiscal year must be set aside to pay assessments made
by the Office of Administrative Hearings under section 211B.37. Amounts remaining after all
assessments have been paid must be canceled to the general account.
    Subd. 5. Allocation. (a) General account. In each calendar year the money in the general
account must be allocated to candidates as follows:
(1) 21 percent for the offices of governor and lieutenant governor together;
(2) 4.2 percent for the office of attorney general;
(3) 2.4 percent each for the offices of secretary of state and state auditor;
(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; and
(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.
(b) Party account. In each calendar year the money in each party account must be allocated
as follows:
(1) 14 percent for the offices of governor and lieutenant governor together;
(2) 2.8 percent for the office of attorney general;
(3) 1.6 percent each for the offices of secretary of state and state auditor;
(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; and
(6) ten percent or $50,000, whichever is less, for the state committee of a political party;
one-third of any amount in excess of that allocated to the state committee of a political party under
this clause must be allocated to the office of state senator and two-thirds must be allocated to the
office of state representative under clause (4).
Money allocated to each state committee under clause (6) 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 clause (6) must be paid to the committee by the 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 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.
    Subd. 5a. Party account for legislative candidates. To ensure that money will be returned
to the counties from which it was collected and to ensure that the distribution of money rationally
relates to the support for particular parties or for particular candidates within legislative districts,
money from the party accounts for legislative candidates must be distributed as provided in
this subdivision.
Each candidate for the state senate and state house of representatives whose name is to
appear on the ballot in the general election must receive money from the candidate's party account
allocated to candidates for 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 designated
by taxpayers who resided in that county and credited to the candidate's party account and
allocated to that office must be:
(1) 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 whose names appeared on the ballot
statewide and for the state senate and state house of representatives, divided by
(2) the sum of the votes cast in the entire county in the last general election for all candidates
of that candidate's party whose names appeared on the ballot statewide and for the state senate
and state house of representatives, multiplied by
(3) the amount in the candidate's party account designated by taxpayers who resided in that
county and allocated to that office.
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 a party under whose name no candidate's name appeared on the ballot statewide in the
last general election, amounts in the party's account must be allocated based on (i) the number
of people voting in the last general election in that part of the county in the candidate's district,
divided by (ii) the number of the people voting in the entire county in the last general election,
multiplied by (iii) the amount in the candidate's party account designated by taxpayers who
resided in that county and allocated to that office.
In the first general election after the legislature is redistricted, "the candidate's district"
means the newly drawn district and voting data from the last general election must 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 is 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 (1) and (2). The average vote must be added to the sums in clauses (1) and
(2) before the calculation is made for all districts in the county.
    Subd. 6. Distribution of party accounts. As soon as the board has obtained from the
secretary of state the results of the primary election, but no later than one week after certification
by the State Canvassing Board of the results of the primary, the board must distribute the available
money in each party account, as certified by the commissioner of revenue on September 1, to
the candidates of that party who have signed a spending limit agreement under section 10A.322
and filed the affidavit of contributions required by section 10A.323, who were opposed in either
the primary election or the general election, and whose names are to appear on the ballot in the
general election, according to the allocations set forth in subdivisions 5 and 5a. The public subsidy
from the party account may not be paid in an amount greater than the expenditure limit of the
candidate or the expenditure limit that would have applied to the candidate if the candidate had
not been freed from expenditure limits under section 10A.25, subdivision 10. If a candidate files
the affidavit required by section 10A.323 after September 1 of the general election year, the board
must 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. 6a. Party account money not distributed. Money from a party account not distributed
to candidates for state senator or representative in any election year must be returned to the general
fund of the state, except that the subsidy from the party account an unopposed candidate would
otherwise have been eligible to receive must be paid to the state committee of the candidate's
political party to be deposited in a special account under subdivision 5, paragraph (b), clause (6),
and used for only those items permitted under section 10A.275. Money from a party account not
distributed to candidates for other offices in an election year must be returned to the party account
for reallocation to candidates as provided in subdivision 5, paragraph (b), in the following year.
    Subd. 7. Distribution of general account. (a) As soon as the board has obtained the results
of the primary election from the secretary of state, but no later than one week after certification of
the primary results by the State Canvassing Board, the board must distribute the available money
in the general account, as certified by the commissioner of revenue on September 1 and according
to allocations set forth in subdivision 5, in equal amounts to all candidates of a major political
party whose names are to appear on the ballot in the general election and who:
(1) have signed a spending limit agreement under section 10A.322;
(2) have filed the affidavit of contributions required by section 10A.323; and
(3) were opposed in either the primary election or the general election.
(b) 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 to exceed 50 percent of the expenditure limit for the candidate or 50 percent of
the expenditure limit that would have applied to the candidate if the candidate had not been freed
from expenditure limits under section 10A.25, subdivision 10. 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.
(c) A candidate must expend or become obligated to expend at least an amount equal to 50
percent of the money distributed by the board under this subdivision no later than the end of the
final reporting period preceding the general election. Otherwise, the candidate must repay to the
board the difference between the amount the candidate spent or became obligated to spend by
the deadline and the amount distributed to the candidate under this subdivision. The candidate
must make the repayment no later than six months following the general election. The candidate
must reimburse the board for all reasonable costs, including litigation costs, incurred in collecting
any amount due.
If the board determines that a candidate has failed to repay money as required by this
paragraph, the board may not distribute any additional money to the candidate until the entirety of
the repayment has been made.
    Subd. 8.[Repealed, 1993 c 318 art 2 s 51]
    Subd. 9.[Repealed, 1993 c 318 art 2 s 51]
    Subd. 10. December distribution. In the event that on the date of either certification by
the commissioner of revenue as provided in subdivision 6 or 7, less than 98 percent of the tax
returns have been processed, the commissioner of revenue must certify to the board by December
1 the amount accumulated in each account since the previous certification. By December 15, the
board must distribute to each candidate according to the allocations in subdivisions 5 and 5a the
amounts to which the candidates are entitled.
    Subd. 10a. Form of distribution. A distribution to a candidate must be in the form of a
check made "payable to the campaign fund of ......(name of candidate)......."
    Subd. 10b. Remainder. Money accumulated after the final certification must be kept in the
respective accounts for distribution in the next general election year.
    Subd. 11. Write-in candidate. For the purposes of this section, a write-in candidate is a
candidate only upon complying with sections 10A.322 and 10A.323.
    Subd. 12.[Repealed by amendment, 1999 c 220 s 39]
History: 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; 1999 c 220 s 39,50; 2000 c 467 s 1; 1Sp2001 c 10
art 18 s 1,2; 2002 c 363 s 38; 2004 c 277 s 1; 2005 c 156 art 6 s 9,10