Minn. R. agency 143, ch. 4503, pt. 4503.0500 - CONTRIBUTIONS
Any donation of money, goods, or services received by a principal campaign committee, political party unit, political committee, or political fund is considered a contribution at the time the item is received.
A vendor may solicit, process, collect, or otherwise facilitate the accumulation of contributions made to a principal campaign committee, political party unit, political committee, or political fund, and may temporarily retain or control any contributions collected, without thereby making a contribution to the intended recipient of the contributions, if the vendor is paid the fair market value of the services provided. Contributions collected must be transmitted to the intended recipient, minus any fees withheld by the vendor. A vendor that is paid the fair market value of any goods or services provided is not a political committee or a political fund by virtue of providing those goods or services. A vendor that determines which principal campaign committee, political party unit, political committee, or political fund receives the contributions collected is a political committee or political fund as provided in Minnesota Statutes, section 10A.01, even if the recipient of the contributions pays the vendor the fair market value of the services provided to collect the contributions.
Promptly after receipt of any contribution intended for a principal campaign committee, political party unit, political committee, or political fund, or on demand of the treasurer, any individual, association, or vendor retaining or controlling the contribution must transmit the contribution together with any required record to the treasurer.
An individual or association that pays for or provides goods or services, or makes goods or services available, with the knowledge that they will be used for the benefit of a principal campaign committee, political party unit, political committee, or political fund, is the contributor of those goods or services.
In lieu of registration with the board, an association registered with the Hennepin County filing officer under Minnesota Statutes, sections 383B.041 to 383B.058, that makes contributions of more than $100 to a committee or fund in a calendar year may notify the recipient committee of its registration with Hennepin County, including its registration number, and instruct the recipient committee to include the notice when the recipient committee discloses receipt of the contribution.
A contribution given by a check written on a joint account is considered to be a contribution by the persons who signed the check in equal proportions unless the candidate or treasurer of the committee or fund has personal knowledge or affirmatively ascertains from any account holder who did not sign the check that the person is a joint contributor. In such cases, a written notation of the basis for considering the contribution to be a joint contribution must be made at the time the contribution is deposited and kept with the committee's or fund's official records.
An anonymous contribution in excess of $20 must be forwarded to the board in its entirety within 14 days after its receipt by the treasurer along with a statement of the amount of the contribution and the date on which it was received.
Automobile use provided to a committee by an individual may be valued at the lowest rate used by the state to reimburse its employees for automobile use. Alternatively, the value of the automobile may be calculated as the actual cost of fuel, maintenance, repairs, and insurance directly related to the use of the automobile. The use of an automobile that exceeds $20 in value a day is either an expenditure that must be reimbursed or a donation in kind from the individual who provided the use of the automobile. An automobile provided by an association must be valued at the fair market value for renting an equivalent automobile.
A principal campaign committee, party unit, or political committee or fund that is not an independent expenditure or ballot question political committee or fund, must consider an association's sources of funding in determining whether a contribution may be accepted from an association that is not registered with the board as a principal campaign committee, a party unit, a political committee, or the supporting association of a political fund. A contribution from an unregistered association is prohibited if any of that association's sources of funding would be prohibited from making the contribution directly under Minnesota Statutes, section 211B.15, subdivision 2.
Notes
Statutory Authority: MS s 10A.02; 10A.025
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