Minnesota Statutes 10A.14 – Registration
Subdivision 1.First registration.
(a) The treasurer of a political committee, political fund, principal campaign committee, or party unit must register with the board by filing a registration statement. The registration statement must be filed by the earliest of the following dates:
(1) no later than 14 days after the committee, fund, or party unit has made a contribution, received contributions, or made expenditures in excess of $750;
(2) no later than the next report of receipts and expenditures filing date applicable to the committee, fund, or party unit if the committee, fund, or party unit reached the threshold in clause (1) before the end of the reporting period covered by that report; or
(3) by the end of the next business day after it has received a loan or contribution that must be reported under section 10A.20, subdivision 5.
(b) This subdivision does not apply to ballot question or independent expenditure political committees or funds, which are subject to subdivision 1a.
Subd. 1a.Independent expenditure or ballot question political committees and funds; first registration; reporting.
The treasurer of an independent expenditure or ballot question political committee or fund must register with the board by filing a registration statement. The registration must be filed by the earliest of the following dates:
Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes 10A.14
- Association: means a group of two or more persons, who are not all members of an immediate family, acting in concert. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Ballot question: means a question or proposition that is placed on the ballot and that may be voted on by:
(1) all voters of the state;
(2) all voters of Hennepin County;
(3) all voters of any home rule charter city or statutory city located wholly within Hennepin County and having a population of 75,000 or more; or
(4) all voters of Special School District No. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Ballot question political committee: means a political committee that makes only expenditures to promote or defeat a ballot question and disbursements permitted under section 10A. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Board: means the state Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Candidate: means an individual who seeks nomination or election as a state constitutional officer, legislator, or judge. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Chair: includes chairman, chairwoman, and chairperson. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
- 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
- expenditure: includes the dollar value of a donation in kind. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Independent expenditure: means an expenditure expressly advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate or local candidate, if the expenditure is made without the express or implied consent, authorization, or cooperation of, and not in concert with or at the request or suggestion of, any candidate or any candidate's principal campaign committee or agent or any local candidate or local candidate's agent. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- 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
- party unit: means the state committee, the party organization within a house of the legislature, or any other party organization designated by the chair of the political party in an annual certification of party units provided to the board. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Political committee: means an association whose major purpose is to influence the nomination or election of one or more candidates or local candidates or to promote or defeat a ballot question, other than a principal campaign committee, local candidate, or a political party unit. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Political fund: means an accumulation of dues or voluntary contributions by an association other than a political committee, principal campaign committee, or party unit, if the accumulation is collected or expended to influence the nomination or election of one or more candidates or local candidates or to promote or defeat a ballot question. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Political party: means a major political party or a minor political party. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- 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
- Principal campaign committee: means a principal campaign committee formed under section 10A. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- State committee: means the organization that, by virtue of the bylaws of a political party, is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the political party at the state level. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
(1) no later than 14 calendar days after the committee or the association registering the political fund has:
(i) received aggregate contributions for independent expenditures of more than $1,500 in a calendar year;
(ii) received aggregate contributions for expenditures to promote or defeat a ballot question of more than $5,000 in a calendar year;
(iii) made aggregate independent expenditures of more than $1,500 in a calendar year; or
(iv) made aggregate expenditures to promote or defeat a ballot question of more than $5,000 in a calendar year;
(2) no later than the next report of receipts and expenditures filing date applicable to the independent expenditure or ballot question committee or fund if the committee or fund reached the threshold in clause (1) before the end of the reporting period covered by that report; or
(3) by the end of the next business day after it has received a loan or contribution that must be reported under section 10A.20, subdivision 5, and it has met one of the requirements of clause (1).
Subd. 2.Form.
The statement of organization must include:
(1) the name, address, and website address if the registrant maintains a website, of the committee, fund, or party unit;
(2) the name, address, and email address of the chair of a political committee, principal campaign committee, or party unit;
(3) the name and address of any supporting association of a political fund;
(4) the name, address, and email address of the treasurer and any deputy treasurers;
(5) the name, address, and email address of the candidate of a principal campaign committee;
(6) a listing of all depositories or safety deposit boxes used; and
(7) for the state committee of a political party only, a list of its party units.
Subd. 2a.Alternate contact information; form.
(a) A candidate; treasurer of a political committee, political fund, principal campaign committee, or party unit; or chair of a political committee, principal campaign committee, or party unit may file a form with the board that includes alternate contact information. If a form is filed, the form must include the following information for the filer:
(1) name;
(2) political committee, political fund, principal campaign committee, or party unit; and
(3) alternate contact information.
(b) The board must only use the alternate contact information to contact the filer for the purposes of administering chapter 10A. Information collected pursuant to this subdivision is private data on individuals.
(c) For purposes of this subdivision, “alternate contact information” means an address, phone number, or email address that is different from the information provided on the form required by subdivision 2.
Subd. 3.
[Repealed, 1976 c 307 s 35]
Subd. 4.Failure to file; penalty.
If an individual fails to file a statement required by this section by the date that the statement was due, the board may impose a late filing fee of $25 per day, not to exceed $1,000, starting on the 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 the statement. An individual who fails to file the statement within seven days after the certified mail notice was sent by the board is subject to a civil penalty imposed by the board of up to $1,000.
Subd. 5.Exemptions.
For good cause shown, the board must grant exemptions to the requirement that email addresses be provided.