Meeting was called to order by Chair Rodriguez.

Members present: Fluegel, Heffelfinger, Pauly, Rodriguez, Slocum, Wilson.

Others present: Olson, Goldsmith, Swanson, staff: Gretz, counsel.

MINUTES (September 25, 1998)

Board members agreed to certain changes in the draft minutes.

Vote on MOTION: Unanimously passed.

Board Meeting Schedule

Next meeting will be on December 11, 1998, at 8:30 a.m.

Chair Rodriguez reported on the following matters discussed at the Board retreat held, September 25,1998:

• Mission, Goals and Objectives

Board members reviewed the current Mission Statement and changed one word:

Board Objectives for fiscal year 1999 were established (see copy attached).

• Discussion Items

Board members agreed that the question of whether the acceptance of a prohibited contribution is to be treated the same as the acceptance of an excessive contribution should be addressed in rulemaking.

Staff will draft proposed language for findings concerning probable cause for review at the October Board meeting (see page 12).

Staff will draft a policy on facially excessive contributions for review at the October Board meeting (see page 12). This policy will be effective for 1999 contributions.

Board members agreed that findings concluded during executive session will be reported into regular session minutes and be made available to the public that day. Letters to the parties involved in the findings have been changed to notify them of this decision.

Board members discussed comments received during a public meeting regarding:

Contributions from Indian tribes - currently in the judicial system;

Categorization of committees - included in the recodification bill;

Expenditure limits - included in a League of Women Voters survey.

The Board decided not to discuss six other items on the agenda.

Chair Rodriguez made the following appointments to the Legislative Recommendations Committee: Sidney Pauly, Wil Fluegel, and Carolyn Rodriguez as ex officio member.

The Board reviewed the following items for possible inclusion in the legislative recommendations:

Commercial use of Board data - currently in the judicial system;

Retirement parties - dealt with in an advisory opinion;

Special source contribution limits - dealt with in an advisory opinion; and

It was determined that two items will be discussed as legislative recommendations:

a) issue advocacy vs. candidate advocacy; and

b) expenditure and contribution limits based on election cycle, not calendar year.

The Board reviewed and discussed a memorandum from Chuck Slocum.

Ms. Olson reported the following:

October 7 - Ms. Olson was interviewed by a student from Hamline University’s Master in Public Administration program. The student’s assignment was to determine how an administrative agency relates to elected officials and the public.

October 21 - Ms. Olson was a guest lecturer at a William Mitchell Law School class on Legislative Advocacy taught by John Herman. She discussed lobbying, campaign finance, and the gift ban with about 35 students.

Finance 98 was used by 18 candidate committees and 12 political committees and political funds to electronically file the pre-general election report. Staff believes that additional candidates, committees, and funds are using the software for recordkeeping.

Legislative staff continues to meet regarding recodification of Chapter 10A. The next meeting will be with legislators following the election.

 Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL):

Ms. Olson will attend a COGEL long-range planning meeting in Washington, DC on December 6, 7, and 8. All travel associated with membership on the COGEL Steering Committee is paid for by COGEL.

October 22nd was Nicole Perreault’s last day as a Board employee. Ms. Perreault will join the staff at WestLaw. Patricia Klingner will begin work with staff on November 16th.

Mr. Goldsmith reviewed Kelly Hansen’s performance from October, 1997, to October, 1998. Ms. Hansen’s performance is satisfactory and she will receive a step increase under the provisions of the AFSCME contract. Ms. Hansen’s position description is out of date and will be rewritten.

Ms. Swanson reviewed Joyce Larson’s performance from October, 1997, to October, 1998. Ms. Larson’s performance is satisfactory and she will receive a step increase under the provisions of the AFSCME contract.

Ms. Olson will attend a University of St. Thomas, Center for Nonprofit Management, Board Breakfast: Relationship Between Board and Executive Director.

The following items were available for Board members:

• Letter to Chair Rodriguez from Bill Cooper, State Chair, Republican Party of Minnesota with a copy of a newspaper article about the application for a casino in Hudson Wisconsin. Mr. Cooper requests that the Board require the return of contributions between the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Political Committee, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (tribe), and the Minnesota Democratic Farmer Labor State Central Committee (DFL).

• Letter to Chair Rodriguez from Ralph D. Ebbott about the request for permission to hang a portrait in the Board office.

Vote on MOTION: Unanimously passed.

Enforcement Report

Mr. Goldsmith presented the following enforcement matters for Board action:

• Report of Receipts and Expenditures for Political Committees and Funds due September 9, 1998

• Report of Receipts and Expenditures for Principal Campaign Committees due August 31, 1998

• Lobbyist Disbursement Report due July 15, 1998

• Statement of Economic Interest for Candidates for Elective Office

• Tom Bartikoski, treasurer, Padilla Speer Beardsley Political Action Committee $450 for the late filing of the Pre-primary Report of Receipts and Expenditures due September 8, 1998, and received in the Board office on September 25, 1998. Mr. Bartikoski states that he mailed the report from the Marriott East Side Hotel in New York City on September 4, 1998. Upon receiving notice from the Board on September 24, 1998, Mr. Bartikoski faxed the report to the Board office. The mailed report has not been received in the Board office to date. Mr. Bartikoski is requesting that the late filing fee be waived. No motion was made.

• Paul Muske, chair, and Coral Cady, treasurer, Brown County Republicans - $500 for the late filing of the Pre-primary Report of Receipts and Expenditures due September 8, 1998, and received in the Board office on October 5, 1998. Letters from Mr. Muske and Ms. Cady state that the treasurer did not understand how to complete the report. Upon learning of the penalty provisions, the chair did assist in filling out the report, and it was filed. Ms. Cady states that all future reports will be filed well in advance of the filing date, and requests that the late filing fee be waived. No motion was made.

• Joyce Franchett, treasurer, 6th Congressional District Committee Reform Party of Minnesota - $500 for the late filing of the Pre-primary Report of Receipts and Expenditures due September 8, 1998, and received in the Board office on October 1, 1998. Ms. Franchett states that she never received the report form. After she received notice on September 26, 1998, that the report was overdue she contacted the Board office for a report form and promptly completed it. She requests that the Board waive her late filing fee due to these circumstances. Ms. Franchett was the treasurer of record when the reports were mailed on August 10, 1998. No motion was made.

• Catherine H. Chase Peters, treasurer, We The People Minnesota - $500 for the late filing of the Pre-primary Report of Receipts and Expenditures due September 8, 1998, and received in the Board office on September 30, 1998. Ms. Chase Peters states that she was on an extended business trip and did not receive any mail during that time. She apologizes for not filing the reports in a timely manner, but since they did not raise or spend any money during the reporting period, she feels that no harm has been done. In light of the circumstances, she requests that the fee be waived. No motion was made.

• Keith Smith, treasurer, MAPE-PAC - $500 for the late filing of the Pre-primary Report of Receipts and Expenditures due September 8, 1998, and received in the Board office on September 29, 1998. Mr. Smith states that there was some confusion on the committees part on the procedures necessary for filing. The organization mistakenly thought that the report needed to be notarized, so they did not drop the report off immediately when it was finished. Additionally, Mr. Smith states that almost all of the Board of Directors is new and they have a lot to learn. Given the circumstances described, MAPE-PAC respectfully requests a waiver. No motion was made.

• John Choi, treasurer, Minnesotans for a Democratic Majority - $300 for the late filing of the Pre-primary Report of Receipts and Expenditures due September 8, 1998, and received in the Board office on September 22, 1998. Mr. Choi states that although he is responsible for filing the report, he never received a copy of the report, and the first time he knew they had a report due was when the notice from the Board arrived. The organization then requested and filed the forms promptly. Mr. Choi further states that given the current financial status the late filing fee would be extremely punitive. Given the circumstances described, Mr. Choi requests that the fee be waived. No motion was made.

• Wilda Obey, treasurer, Pine County DFL - $450 for the late filing of the Pre-primary Report of Receipts and Expenditures due September 8, 1998, and received in the Board office on September 25, 1998. Ms. Obey became treasurer in November, 1997, and filed the 1997 calendar year report for this committee. She states that she did not receive any calendar of filing dates and assumed the next report would cover calendar year 1998. She was out of the country from August 2 through the evening of September 19, 1998. Thus, she was unaware of the filing packet for the pre-primary election report. No motion was made.

• Kris Anderson, treasurer, Nicollet County RPM - $250 for the late filing of the Pre-primary Report of Receipts and Expenditures due September 8, 1998, and received in the Board office on September 21, 1998. Ms. Anderson relates that on August 14th her mother collapsed and was hospitalized. She underwent surgery on August 24th and was found to have a cancerous brain tumor. She has been undergoing extensive treatment since that time. This has taken an extensive amount of the treasurer’s time and energy resulting in the late filing.

• David Mortenson, treasurer, 8th Congressional District COPE AFL-CIO - $200 for the late filing of the Pre-primary Report of Receipts and Expenditures due September 8, 1998, and received in the Board office on September 18, 1998. Mr. Mortenson, a new treasurer, states that he was not familiar with the reporting form, but got it mailed before the deadline. There is no record that it was received. Mr. Mortenson apparently was out of town when he received the Boards first notice that the report had not been received. He became aware of the problem on September 17th and faxed in the report the next day. No motion was made.

• Jeff Reed, Secretary, HealthPartners Civic Affairs Council - $500 for the late filing of the Pre-primary Report of Receipts and Expenditures due September 8, 1998, and received in the Board office on October 28, 1998, as part of pre-general election report. When the committee filed its 1997 year-end report, it showed an address change and directed staff to change the address to a post office box. Mr. Reed indicates that past practice was to have Board mailings go to the corporate office and the committee was "lax about monitoring the contents of the post office box". Over the past week Board staff received several pieces of returned mail addressed to this post office box and contacted the committee. According to Mr. Reed the post office box was closed without ever being emptied by the committee. This resulted in the returned mail. No motion was made.

Brandon Klar, ASI - By letter dated September 29, 1998, Brandon Klar from ASI requests that ASI no longer be considered a lobbyist Principal. According to Mr. Klar, ASI disputes that it has hired the services of Chris Sandberg or any other lobbyist in the state of Minnesota for the purpose of lobbying on behalf of ASI.

Mr. Fluegel’s MOTION: To lay over the matter to the January meeting.

Vote on MOTION: Unanimously passed.

Joseph Sheffer, treasurer, Rifenberg for House Committee - The Report of Receipts and Expenditures for calendar year 1997, disclosed an ending cash balance of $5,184.69. The beginning cash balance on the Pre-primary Report of Receipts and Expenditures was disclosed as $5,115.69. Mr. Sheffer explains that he became treasurer in March and at that time he received a printout from the bank that gave the $5,115.60 balance. Mr. Sheffer hopes that this will clear up any questions regarding his 1998 beginning cash balance and requests that the Board accepts this as a new beginning cash balance.

Vote on MOTION: Unanimously passed.

Claudia Kelly, chair, County Unit 34 DFL - On October 5, 1998, Board staff received a letter from Claudia Kelly requesting that it be accepted in lieu of a filed report. The former treasurer of County Unit 34 DFL resigned on July 29, 1998. Ms. Kelly informed staff that there had been no activity and that there would be no activity while the office of treasurer is vacant. In her letter, Ms. Kelly states that she has spoken with the former treasurer, who agreed to send a report covering all expenditures and contributions through the dates of his resignation. Ms. Kelly requests that the Board accept the letter in lieu of a report, as she is not empowered to act as treasurer.

Vote on MOTION: Unanimously passed.

Tom Meyer, candidate, Eastside Neighbors for Tom Meyer - On September 25, 1998, Board staff received a letter and a termination report from Mr. Meyer. In his letter Mr. Meyer states that all debts are paid with the exception of an outstanding bill from 1990, to Capitol Printing and Engraving, of Lake Elmo, MN for $2,998.36. Mr. Meyer states that he has made every attempt to locate this company, including contacting the Secretary of State’s office, and there is no record of it. Mr. Meyer requests that his committee be allowed to terminate with this outstanding debt.

Vote on MOTION: Unanimously passed.

The Annual Report of Lobbyist Principal covering the period January 1 through December 31, 1997, was due on March 16, 1998. On April 3, 1998, a reminder letter was sent to those principals who had not filed the report. A second letter was sent on April 28, 1998, notifying those who had not yet filed the report that this matter would be brought to the Board for authorization of referral to the Office of the Attorney General for further action. On June 25, 1998, the Board authorized a letter to be sent by the Attorney General’s Office, regarding the non filed reports, and authorization for subsequent legal action. To date, there are 26 Lobbyist Principal reports that have not been filed. Staff requests further direction on whether to proceed with litigation regarding those Lobbyist Principals who have not filed a report and have active lobbyists.

Vote on MOTION: Unanimously passed.

MA MA Wi No Min I, Fond du Lac Band Committee of Political Education, Lower Sioux Political Fund, and Prairie Island Community PAC (laid over from the August 28th and September 25th Board meetings) - On October 13, 1998, Board staff received requests for extensions from the representatives of the above named tribes. They renewed their initial request that enforcement regarding the disclosure requirement be extended until the end of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux litigation. No motion was made.

Mr. Fluegel’s MOTION: Resolved that:

Vote on MOTION: Unanimously passed.

• Enforcement against candidates for principal campaign committee violations.

Ms. Wilson’s MOTION: Resolved that:

Vote on MOTION: Unanimously passed.

• Lobbyist Disbursement Report due July 15, 1998

Rick Harvala, Minn. Technical College Student Assn.: $15
Douglas Cox, Minn. Citizens for Tax Justice: $30

• Report of Receipts and Expenditures due September 8, 1998

Robert Walz, treasurer, Chisago County DFL: $100
Roy Buchotz, treasurer, Campaign Fundamentals: $50
Steven Johnson, treasurer, McLeod County RPM: $50
Edwin Hill, treasurer, IBEW Educational Committee: $500
Thomas Dennstedt, treasurer, Fillmore County DFL: $300
Nyle Zikmund, treasurer, Volunteer Fire Fighter Political Committee: $50
Debbie Ortman, treasurer, St. Louis County Unit 8 DFL: $50
Michael Stocksted, treasurer, Minn. Professional Firefighters Political Fund: $250

• Statement of Economic Interest for Candidates for Elective Office

Wendy Rabin: $55

Stephen Baretz, Baretz Volunteer Committee: $500 partial payment. $4,785.05 return of public subsidy financing remains to be paid for 1991.

Robert Maline, Treasurer, Jessie Ventura for Governor: $200

All payments of late filing fees and civil fines have been deposited in the general fund of the state pursuant to statute. The anonymous contribution has been deposited in the general account of the state elections campaign fund pursuant to statute.

Financial Statement and Agency Deposit Reports - Ms. Olson and Ms. Errico submitted reports covering January 1 through September 30, 1998.

Advisory Opinion #304 - Lobbying Municipal Governmental Units (laid over from the September 25th Board meeting)

The Board reviewed a draft opinion.

Mr. Fluegel’s MOTION: To approve Advisory Opinion #304 as drafted.

Vote on MOTION: Unanimously passed.

Board members reviewed a memo from Counsel Gretz outlining the status of cases which have been turned over to the Attorney General’s office (see copy of memo attached).

Commercial Use of Board Data (see January 23rd, March 27th, and April 24th Board minutes)

The following correspondence was available for Board members:

• A letter from Clayton M. Robinson, Jr., St. Paul City Attorney, informing the Board that it appears that any alleged violations against Wes Lane are time-barred due to the statute of limitations (see September 25th Board minutes).

• A letter from Chris Galler, Minnesota Association of Realtors, who feels that contributions to political committees or political funds from dues paying members are illegal and unethical.

Meeting adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Wil Fluegel, Secretary

(Minutes by staff)

attachments ( for a copy of Legal Counsel's report contact the Board Office)

The Board works to accomplish this objective by:

• Providing effective client education programs and publications  
• Simplifying and improving reporting forms and procedures 
• Providing clarity and consistency in actions taken by the Board 
• Completing and implementing a campaign finance management software application and facilitating its use by the maximum number of political committees and political funds 
• Working with the legislature to simplify and improve the Ethics in Government Act while maintaining its effectiveness through a recodification of the Act. 

The Board works to accomplish this objective by:

• Reaching timely decisions that are impartial, non-partisan, and reasonable 
• Imposing sanctions consistent with the serious and important purposes of the Ethics In Government Act  
• Using technology more effectively to identify compliance problems and provide clients with resources to avoid problems 
• Evaluating and improving Board enforcement activities on an ongoing basis

 The Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board will help citizens become better informed about public issues related to the Ethics in Government Act.

The Board works to accomplish this objective by:

• Providing the public with reports and publications that are clear and informative
• Assuring that actions taken by the Board are described in language that the general public should understand 
• Using the internet and other technology more effectively to provide information to the public and to encourage involvement by citizens in public issues 
• Evaluating and improving the effectiveness of the educational programs and information that the Board provides to the public