Download - Hennepin County Campaign Finance Laws

8/14/2019 Hennepin County Campaign Finance Laws

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NOVEMBER 4, 2013 — VERSION 1

A gap in administrative authority for campaign !nance violations makes the enforcement of state law practically

unenforceable for candidates for Hennepin County, Minneapolis, or Bloomington o"ces. READ BACKGROUND »

Alleged campaign violation Administrative remedy Criminal remedy

MINN. STAT. § 383B.043, SUBD. 1

The political committee doesn’t have a chair and

treasurer (which may be the same person).

NO ADMINISTRATIVE OR CRIMINAL REMEDY

There’s no administrative body with authority t

!ndings of fact, issue reprimands, or issue civil

county attorney, but it’s not a criminal violation

— ENTIRELY UNENFORCEABLE 1 2

o receive complaints from the public, make

penalties. A violation can be referred to the

.


The political committee has contributions being

deposited to more than one bank account.








.


The political committee accepts or spends funds while its

o"ce of treasurer is vacant.

NONE 1 2

There’s no administrative body with

authority to receive complaints from the

public, make !ndings of fact, issue

reprimands, or issue civil penalties. A

violation can be referred to the county

attorney.

CRIMINAL PROSECUTION 1

As a criminal o# ense, this misdemeanor

“shall” be prosecuted by county attorney.

Since no fact-!nding administrative body is

involved, the person(s) responsible are to be

prosecuted regardless of intent or severity.

Campaign committees aren’t !ned or

reprimanded since criminal charges can onlybe made against individuals.

https://tonywebster.com/2013/11/campaign-finance-complaint-minneapolis-hennepin/

https://tonywebster.com/2013/11/campaign-finance-complaint-minneapolis-hennepin/

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=383B&view=chapter%23stat.383B.043










The political committee retains an anonymous

contribution in excess of $20 without forwarding it on to

the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure

Board for deposit into the state’s general fund, asrequired.

NONE 1 2




reprimands, or issue civil penalties. Aviolation can be referred to the county

attorney.





involved, the person(s) responsible are to beprosecuted regardless of intent or severity.


reprimanded since criminal charges can only

be made against individuals.


The political committee’s funds were commingled with

the personal funds of an o"cer, member, or associate of

the committee.

NONE 1 2



public, make !ndings of fact, issuereprimands, or issue civil penalties. A


attorney.




Since no fact-!nding administrative body isinvolved, the person(s) responsible are





MINN. STAT. § 383B.045

The candidate accepted or expended more than $100

without forming a principal campaign committee.



!ndings of fact, issue reprimands, or issue civilcounty attorney, but it’s not a criminal violation



penalties. A violation can be referred to the.


Campaign expenditures weren’t made through the

campaign’s principal campaign committee.








.















Candidate failed to register campaign committee using

“statement of organization” with !ling o"cer within 14

days of receiving or spending more than $100.








.


Candidate !led a “statement of organization” but failed to

include a committee name, the name and address of the

chair and treasurer(s), the name and address of the

committee’s bank, the name and address of any

supporting association of a political fund.








.


The treasurer failed to keep an account of contributions,

expenditures, the names and addresses of contribution

sources or expenditure payees, and/or the name and

address of each political committee or fund it transferred

funds to.





In every single local race in the rest of the s

has authority for the general subject matte

(See Minn. Stat. § 211A.06)




.

ate, the O!ce of Administrative Hearings

r of this statute.


An expenditure was made without being authorized by

the treasurer.








.


The treasurer authorized more than $20 per week as

petty cash for miscellaneous expenditures.








.











http://livepage.apple.com/

http://livepage.apple.com/





The treasurer failed to obtain a receipted bill stating the

particulars of every expenditure made by or on behalf of

the campaign committee.








.


Failure to !le: the treasurer failed to !le a campaign

!nance report on time, or at all.

ADMINISTRATIVE FINES

The !ling o"cer can send a notice and after

7 days begin imposing a late !ling fee of $5

per day up to $100. If the report was due

before an election, the !ling o"cer doesn’t

need to send a notice can can charge $50

per day up to $500. The !ling o"cer can

sue in civil court to recover fees.

There’s no administrative body with the


public or make !ndings of fact.

In every single local race in the rest of

the state, the O!ce of Administrative

Hearings has authority for the general

subject matter of this statute.


CRIMINAL CHARGES

If the treasurer fails to !le the report within

21 days after receiving a notice, or within 7

days after receiving a second notice, it

becomes a criminal o# ense as a

misdemeanor, which “shall” be prosecuted by

the county attorney.

Campaign committees aren’t !ned orreprimanded any further since criminal

charges can only be made against

individuals.


The campaign committee dissolved without !ling a

termination report with the !ling o"cer.


See failure to !le.






CRIMINAL CHARGES

See failure to !le.

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=383B.048
















An individual citizen made an expenditure of over $100

for the purposes of in$uencing an election, but failed to

!le a report.

SOMETIMES ADMINISTRATIVE FINES 1 2

See failure to !le.

Since the !ling o"cer doesn’t have the

authority to receive complaints or do fact!nding, it likely wouldn’t be able to

determine that a report was, in fact, due.

SOMETIMES CRIMINAL CHARGES 1 2

See failure to !le.

Since a failure to !le only becomes a crime if

the individual ignores notices from the !lingo"cer, criminal prosecution is inhibited.


The campaign committee !led a campaign !nance report,

but didn’t disclose assets on hand; each contribution*

(with name, address, employer/occupation); each loan*

(with name, address, employer/occupation); each

expenditure* (with name, address), each advance ofcredit, each transfer, and the sums of all transfers,

disbursements, contributions, and receipts.

* Only when the aggregate amount of money exchanged with the

source/destination exceeds $100 for the duration of the cycle.

NONE 1 2





violation can be referred to the countyattorney.






SOMETIMES CRIMINAL CHARGES 1 2

While there are no direct criminal penalties in

this section, Minn. Stat. § 383.054 calls for

gross misdemeanor prosecution if the

individual signing and certifying the report

knowingly submitted false information orknowingly omitted required information.

This forces the county attorney to determine

knowing intent. However, if the inaccuracy or

omission was not done “knowingly,” then

there was no crime and there is no criminal

remedy.


involved, the person(s) responsible areprosecuted regardless of severity.

Additionally, criminal charges are only

against the individual signer of the report,

not the campaign or candidate.









A person who has a bill, charge, or claim against a

principal campaign committee failed to render it to the

treasurer within 60 days of the material or service being

provided.

NONE 1 2




reprimands, or issue civil penalties. Aviolation can be referred to the county

attorney.






CRIMINAL CHARGES

This petty misdemeanor “shall” be

prosecuted by county attorney. Since no fact-

!nding administrative body is involved, the

person(s) responsible are prosecutedregardless of intent or severity. In Minnesota,

petty misdemeanors are not classi!ed as

crimes.


A person attempted to circumvent disclosure of the

source or amount of contributions or expenditures by

redirecting funds through or contributing funds on behalf

of another person.

NONE 1 2






attorney.

CRIMINAL CHARGES 1 2




involved, the person(s) responsible are


The statute is vague on the de!nition of

“circumvention.” Campaign committees

aren’t !ned or reprimanded since criminal

charges can only be made againstindividuals.









An individual engaged in economic reprisals, threatened

the loss of employment or physical coercion against

another individual because of their political contributions

or activity.

COVERED BY THE OFFICE OF

ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

While there is no administrative body with

authority on the statute as written, a similar

statute with the same e# ect (Minn. Stat. §211B.07) wasn’t excluded for subject races

in Hennepin County, so the O"ce of

Administrative Hearings has authority and

can receive complaints, make !ndings of

fact, issue reprimands, issue civil penalties if

the act violated the § 211B.07 wording.

CRIMINAL CHARGES




involved, the person(s) responsible areprosecuted regardless of intent or severity.

Campaign committees (if involved in the

reprisal or threat) aren’t !ned or



As documented on the left, Minn. Stat. §

211B.07 is also a gross misdemeanor and is

similar but more speci!c.


Candidate failed to !le a disclosure statement of

economic interest on time or at all.


Penalties for a failure to !le are the same as

other examples cited above.

CRIMINAL CHARGES

Charges for a failure to !le are the same as

above.









A !ler becoming aware of an inaccuracy or change on an

already-!led report failed to submit any corrections to the

!ling o"cer within 10 days.

NONE 1 2

There’s no administrative body with the



reprimands, issue civil penalties, or referthe violation for prosecution.

SOMETIMES CRIMINAL CHARGES

“Any individual who willfully fails to report a

material change or correction is guilty of a

misdemeanor.”



However, if the failure is not willful, there is

no criminal remedy.


involved, the person(s) responsible are to be

prosecuted regardless of severity.

Campaign committees aren’t !ned orreprimanded since criminal charges can only


FOOTNOTES

1 Just because a statute doesn’t authorize speci!c administrative or criminal action, doesn’t mean compliance can’t be sought through civil court to obtain an order

to compel compliance. Also, an injured party could always seek injunctive relief, damages, or !le a writ of mandamus. Those tasks aren’t easy and aren’t well

documented for the average citizen, and would be a legal !ght for the county attorney.

2 Minn. Stat. § 383B.056, subd. 8 seems to be an attempt at a catch-all remedy, but it’s hardly e# ective. If any !ling o"cer or subordinate has knowledge or reason

to believe that a violation of § 383B.041 – 383B.057 has occurred, they shall transmit that knowledge belief to the county attorney. However, keep in mind that

Minn. Stat. § 383B.056 explicitly states, “Except as expressly provided ... a violation of sections 383B.041 to 383B.055 is not a crime.” All of the expressly-provided

crimes have been detailed above, leaving no other remedy for a county attorney to prosecute unless they pursue civil claims in district court.

No warranty or representation of accuracy. This is all just my interpretation and opinion, and it’s de!nitely not legal advice.

Respectful feedback, questions, and corrections are more than welcome at [email protected] — Public Domain


http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



Download - Hennepin County Campaign Finance Laws

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