Minnesota Statutes 10A.071 – Certain Gifts by Lobbyists and Principals Prohibited
Subdivision 1.Definitions.
(a) The definitions in this subdivision apply to this section.
Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes 10A.071
- Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
- Contribution: includes a loan or advance of credit to a political committee, political fund, principal campaign committee, local candidate, or party unit, if the loan or advance of credit is: (1) forgiven; or (2) repaid by an individual or an association other than the political committee, political fund, principal campaign committee, local candidate, or party unit to which the loan or advance of credit was made. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Forbearance: A means of handling a delinquent loan. A
- Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
- Loan: means an advance of money or anything of value made to a political committee, political fund, principal campaign committee, local candidate, or party unit. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Lobbyist: means an individual:
(1) engaged for pay or other consideration of more than $3,000 from all sources in any year:
(i) for the purpose of attempting to influence legislative or administrative action, or the official action of a political subdivision, by communicating or urging others to communicate with public or local officials; or
(ii) from a business whose primary source of revenue is derived from facilitating government relations or government affairs services if the individual's job duties include offering direct or indirect consulting or advice that helps the business provide those services to clients; or
(2) who spends more than $3,000 of the individual's personal funds, not including the individual's own traveling expenses and membership dues, in any year for the purpose of attempting to influence legislative or administrative action, or the official action of a political subdivision, by communicating or urging others to communicate with public or local officials. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Local official: means a person who holds elective office in a political subdivision or who is appointed to or employed in a public position in a political subdivision in which the person has authority to make, to recommend, or to vote on as a member of the governing body, major decisions regarding the expenditure or investment of public money. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Majority: means with respect to an individual the period of time after the individual reaches the age of 18. See Minnesota Statutes 645.451
- Personal property: All property that is not real property.
- Principal: means an individual or association that:
(1) spends more than $500 in the aggregate in any calendar year to engage a lobbyist, compensate a lobbyist, or authorize the expenditure of money by a lobbyist; or
(2) is not included in clause (1) and spends a total of at least $50,000 in any calendar year on efforts to influence legislative action, administrative action, or the official action of metropolitan governmental units, as described in section 10A. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Public official: means any:
(1) member of the legislature;
(2) individual employed by the legislature as secretary of the senate, legislative auditor, director of the Legislative Budget Office, chief clerk of the house of representatives, revisor of statutes, or researcher, legislative analyst, fiscal analyst, or attorney in the Office of Senate Counsel, Research and Fiscal Analysis, House Research, or the House Fiscal Analysis Department;
(3) constitutional officer in the executive branch and the officer's chief administrative deputy;
(4) solicitor general or deputy, assistant, or special assistant attorney general;
(5) commissioner, deputy commissioner, or assistant commissioner of any state department or agency as listed in section 15. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
(b) “Gift” means money, real or personal property, a service, a loan, a forbearance or forgiveness of indebtedness, or a promise of future employment, that is given and received without the giver receiving consideration of equal or greater value in return.
(c) “Official” means a public official, an employee of the legislature, or a local official.
(d) “Plaque” means a decorative item with an inscription recognizing an individual for an accomplishment.
Subd. 2.Prohibition.
A lobbyist or principal may not give a gift or request another to give a gift to an official. An official may not accept a gift from a lobbyist or principal.
Subd. 3.Exceptions.
(a) The prohibitions in this section do not apply if the gift is:
(1) a contribution as defined in section 10A.01, subdivision 11;
(2) services to assist an official in the performance of official duties, including but not limited to providing advice, consultation, information, and communication in connection with legislation, and services to constituents;
(3) services of insignificant monetary value;
(4) a plaque with a resale value of $5 or less;
(5) a trinket or memento costing $5 or less;
(6) informational material with a resale value of $5 or less; or
(7) food or a beverage given at a reception, meal, or meeting if:
(i) the reception, meal, or meeting is held away from the recipient’s place of work by an organization before whom the recipient appears to make a speech or answer questions as part of a program; or
(ii) the recipient is a member or employee of the legislature and an invitation to attend the reception, meal, or meeting was provided to all members of the legislature at least five days prior to the date of the event.
(b) The prohibitions in this section do not apply if the gift is given:
(1) because of the recipient’s membership in a group, a majority of whose members are not officials, and an equivalent gift is given to the other members of the group; or
(2) by a lobbyist or principal who is a member of the family of the recipient, unless the gift is given on behalf of someone who is not a member of that family.