STATE OF MINNESOTA
CAMPAIGN FINANCE AND PUBLIC DISCLOSURE BOARD
CONCILIATION
AGREEMENT
In the matter of the Committee to Elect Keith Ellison
(#14902);
Pursuant
to Minn. Stat. §10A.28, subd. 3, the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure
Board and Representative Keith Ellison hereby agree as follows:
1. During 2002, the Committee to Elect Keith Ellison accepted $6,000 in contributions from special sources. These sources include registered lobbyists from whom the Committee accepted $100, political committees or political funds from which the Committee accepted $5,600, and large givers, as defined in Minn. Stat. §10A.27, subd. 11, from whom the Committee accepted $300. The total amount of these contributions exceeded by $524 the applicable limit on aggregate contributions from special sources, which for this candidate was $5,476. The amount of the excess contributions was not returned to the contributors within 60 days as required by Minn. Stat. §10A.15, subd. 3.
2. By letter
dated June 20, 2003, Kim Ellison, treasurer, stated “the limit is…exceeded by
$525. This was an oversight on our part
and will not happen again.”
3. Board records
show that this is the first calendar year in which the Committee to Elect Keith
Ellison reported acceptance of contributions which exceeded the applicable
aggregate contribution limit. The
Committee to Elect Keith Ellison registered with the Board on January 22, 1998.
4. The parties
agree that the Committee to Elect Keith Ellison accepted excessive
contributions from special sources resulting in an inadvertent violation of
Minn. Stat. §10A. 27, subd. 11, in calendar year 2002.
5. Representative
Ellison hereby agrees to return to donors of the contributions, described in
paragraph one, an amount sufficient to bring the committee in compliance with
Minn. Stat. §10A.27, subd. 11. Copies
of the checks and the accompanying letters returning the contributions must be
forwarded to the Board within 30 days after the date this Conciliation
Agreement is signed by the Board Chair.
6. The Board
imposes a civil penalty of $524, one times the amount by which the
contributions exceeded the applicable limit, to be paid to the Board for
deposit in the general fund of the state.
7. Representative
Ellison hereby agrees to forward to the Board $524 by check or money order
payable to the STATE OF MINNESOTA within 30 days after the date this Agreement
is signed by the Board chair. It is
agreed by the parties that the copies of the checks and the accompanying
letters returning the contributions, payment of the civil penalty of $524, and
this Conciliation Agreement will be a bar to any civil proceeding under Minn.
Stat. §10A.28, subds. 3 & 4.
8. It is further
understood and agreed, however, that if the excess amount is not returned as specified
in paragraph 5 above, or the civil penalty of $524 is not paid within the time
specified in paragraph 7 above, then Representative Ellison will be personally
liable to pay a civil penalty, under Minn. Stat. §§10A.28 and 10A.34, subd. 1,
in an amount calculated as follows:
(a) $1,048
or two times the amount by which the contributions exceeded the statutory
limit, if payment is received 31 to 60 days after the date this Agreement is
signed by the Board Chair;
(b) $1,572
or three times the amount by which the contributions exceeded the statutory
limit, if payment is received 61 to 90 days after the date this Agreement is
signed by the Board Chair;
(c) $2,096 or four times the amount by which the contributions exceeded the statutory limit, if payment is received 91 to 120 days after the date this Agreement is signed by the Board Chair.
9.
It is further understood that if the contributions are not returned
within the time specified in paragraph 5 above, and the civil penalty is not
paid as agreed, within the times specified in paragraphs 7 and 8 above, the
Board will proceed to enforce the provisions of Minn. Stat. §10A.28, subd. 4.
10. It is further understood and agreed that
this Agreement is confidential until signed by Representative Ellison and the
Board Chair; the signed Agreement then shall become a matter of public record,
and the statutory requirement of confidentiality shall no longer apply. Minn. Stat. §§10A.02, subd. 11 and 10A.28,
subd. 3.
Dated: 7/29/03
Representative Keith Ellison
Approved by the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure
Board
By
Dated: 8/1/03
Clyde Miller,
chair
Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board