Minnesota Lobbyist Principal's Report

Posted by Tammera R. Diehm on February 21, 2013

In accordance with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Act, an Annual Report of Lobbyist Principal is required to be filed annually with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board ("Board"). Any business or association which retains or employs a registered lobbyist in the State of Minnesota is required to file the annual report no later than March 15. The form of the report will be sent to all lobbyist principals by the Board.

This report must disclose the total amount of money spent by the principal on lobbying efforts in Minnesota from January 1 through December 31 of the preceding year. The reported amount can be rounded to the nearest $20,000 and must include:

  1.  All expenditures for advertising, mailing, research, analysis, compilation and dissemination of information, and public relations campaigns;
  2. All salaries and administrative expenses attributable to lobbying activities of the principal; and
  3. All direct payments to lobbyists under contract.

The report may be filed with the Board by United States Mail, personal delivery, or facsimile transmission to (651) 296-1722 or (800) 357-4114. If filed by mail, the filing must be postmarked by March 15. Alternatively, the report may be filed electronically (click here). All reports are available for viewing by the public.

If the report is not received by March 15, the Board will notify the lobbyist principal by certified mail. The Board may impose late filing fees in an amount equal to $5 per day (up to a maximum of $100) beginning eleven (11) days after providing written notice that the report was not received. Failure to report after receiving notice from the Board can result in civil penalties of up to $1,000. Lobbyist principals must retain records related to lobbyist expenses for a period of four (4) years.

When does a legal campaign contribution become an illegal bribe?

Posted by Tammera R. Diehm on February 19, 2013

On February 14, 2013, in United States v. Terry (6th Cir., No. 11-4130, 2/14/13), the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of an Ohio state judge on charges of honest-services fraud, holding that an otherwise legitimate campaign contribution can be deemed to be a bribe even if the prosecution is unable to tie the expectation of influence to a specific act.

Judge Steven Terry, a former judge for the Ohio Court of Common Pleas, was appointed to fill a vacancy on the state court bench in April 2007. In 2008, Terry faced reelection and, being a first time candidate for public office, Terry sought the assistance from the County Auditor, Frank Russo, who was active in Ohio politics. In July 2008, Russo had a conversation with a local attorney, Joe O’Malley, about two foreclosure cases that were on Terry’s docket. O’Malley represented several homeowners in a lawsuit against American Home Bank and asked Russo to convince Terry to deny the bank’s motions for summary judgment. Russo promised to call Terry and make sure that Terry did what he was “supposed to do” with the cases. Unbeknownst to Russo, O’Malley, or Terry, the FBI was investigating Russo on corruption charges and federal agents were monitoring Russo’s telephone calls.

Russo contacted Judge Terry two days after speaking with O’Malley. He asked Terry to deny the motions for summary judgment. Terry agreed to do so. In the same conversation, the men discussed Russo’s attendance at future fundraisers for Terry’s reelection campaign. Later that same day, Terry spoke with the magistrate judge who was assigned to the foreclosure cases and told her to deny the motions for summary judgment. The magistrate forwarded the docket to Terry so that he could deny the motions himself and Terry denied the motions without reviewing the case files.

As part of the federal investigation into Russo’s activities, Russo pled guilty to twenty-one political corruption counts and received a 262-month prison sentence. Terry was indicted on five political corruption charges including conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services fraud, including mail fraud by denying the bank’s summary judgment motions and honest services fraud by accepting gifts, payments and other things of value in exchange for favorable official action. The honest services fraud counts were tied to mailed documents – checks from Russo’s political action committee and a thank you note from Terry to Russo. Terry was convicted on three counts and sentenced to 63-months in prison on each count, to be served concurrently.

Terry appealed the district court’s findings, arguing, among other things, that the Court should distinguish between elected public officials who are allowed to accept campaign contributions and appointed public officials who would have no way of accepting legal contributions. Terry argued that for the class of officials who are allowed to accept contributions, a bribe can only exist if the payment was made “in exchange for a specific official act or omission.” The Court rejected this argument, noting that both Congress and the Supreme Court had refused to make such a distinction in the realm of extortion. The Court stated that “’motives and consequences, not formalities’ are the keys for determining whether a public official entered an agreement to accept a bribe.” The Court further noted that “so long as a public official agrees that payments will influence an official act,” there can be sufficient proof to show the intent that is required for a bribery conviction.

Clean Energy Advocate Named to PUC Seat

Posted by Eric F. Swanson on February 11, 2013

Earlier today, Governor Dayton announced the appointment of Nancy Lange to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. Nancy Lange will replace Phyllis Reha, whose term expired in early January. Ms. Lange will begin her service March 4, for a term extending through January 7, 2019.

Ms. Lange has over two decades of experience advancing clean energy policies and practices in Minnesota and currently serves as Manager of Policy and Engagement at the Center for Energy and Environment's Innovation Exchange.  Prior to joining CEE, Ms. Lange served as Energy Program Director at the Izaak Walton League of America.  She holds a B.S. from Iowa State University and a M.A. in Public Affairs from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.

Energy in the Spotlight

Posted by Eric F. Swanson on February 08, 2013

Governor Dayton’s state of the State address this Wednesday evening contained a few surprises, not least of which was his focus on climate change and renewable energy. With the change in the legislature to DFL control, most observers expected renewable energy advocates to move from playing defense to offense, but the Governor’s focus on these issues may raise these issues further up on the priority list. Here’s an excerpt from the Governor’s speech:

"No one can endure the severe droughts or floods of recent years; endure (or, some, enjoy) our milder, snow-scarce winters or lather on sunscreen to walk outdoors without being greatly alarmed. If you’re not, talk with my good friend and world-premier polar explorer, Will Steger, who is here tonight, about the drastic climate changes he has witnessed. Even more alarming is that our state and our nation are still not doing enough to reverse this path toward global catastrophe, before it is too late.

In Minnesota, we have made real progress in areas like energy conservation, more efficient farming and manufacturing practices, and the development and use of clean, renewable energy, especially wind energy, instead of polluting fossil fuels. The question is: are we progressing fast enough? Are we doing all we can to utilize other renewables, such as solar, and also to make Minnesota the best place to locate these new industries and their jobs? . . .

I challenge this Legislature to work again with our state’s visionary clean energy advocates, large energy providers, large energy users, other stakeholders, and my administration to use your past achievements as springboards for Minnesota’s next big leap toward a sustainable energy future."

No bills have been introduced in either body yet to pursue this agenda, but legislation to require a solar energy mandate (on top of the current renewable mandate) of as much as ten percent is expected, along with bills to significantly increase small, distributed generation including through increased use of renewables -- so stay tuned! What looked to be a quiet year on energy policy issues may get noisy after all.

Proposed List of Newly Taxed Items

Posted by Thomas J. Hanson on February 01, 2013

According to Governor Mark Dayton’s Sales Tax Reform Plan, all existing and newly taxed items will be subject to a 20% sales tax rate reduction to 5.5%. Here is a list, released by the Minnesota Department of Revenue, of all new items subject to the sales tax.

  • Affiliate Nexus
  • Digital Products
  • Parallel Taxation of Direct Satellite Services
  • Parallel Taxation of Remote Access Software
  • Admission to stadium box seats and suites, exhibitions, and selling events
  • Repeal exemption for ready to eat meat and seafood
  • Clothing on items over $100
  • Admissions/Memberships
  • Over-the-counter drugs
  • Personal services – e.g. barber shops, beauty salons, tattoo and body piercing, nail salons
  • Other personal services – e.g. wedding planning, dating services, shoe shining, personal shopping
  • Veterinary Services
  • Personal instruction – e.g. dance, golf, tennis, etc.
  • Brokerage & investment counseling – e.g. portfolio management, investment advice
  • Bank charges & safe deposit box rental
  • Legal services purchased by consumers
  • Accounting services purchased by consumers
  • Auto repair services
  • Household goods repair & maintenance
  • Warehousing & storage services does not include storage of farm products or refrigerated storage)
  • Taxicabs and Other Ground Transport Services (does not include public transportation or school transportation)
  • Travel agent services
  • Legal services purchased by businesses
  • Accounting and bookkeeping services purchased by businesses
  • Architectural and engineering services
  • Specialized design services – e.g. interior decorating, industrial design services, graphic design services
  • Computer services – e.g. custom computer programming, computer systems design services, computer facilities management services, data processing, hosting and related services
  • Management consulting services – e.g. administrative management consulting services, human resources consulting services, marketing consulting services, environmental consulting services, scientific and technical consulting services, scientific research and development services
  • Other consulting and development services – e.g. environmental, sanitation, site remediation, safety, economic, security and other consulting services
  • Advertising and related services – e.g. advertising agencies, public relations agencies, media buying agencies, media representatives, display advertising, advertising material distribution services
  • Office administrative services
  • Facilities support services – e.g. snow plowing, cleaning
  • Employment services – e.g. temp help agencies, employment placement agencies, executive search agencies, professional employer organizations
  • Business support services – e.g. telephone answering services, collection agencies, telemarketing services on contract, secretarial and court reporting services, document preparation services, private mail centers, collection agencies, credit bureaus, repossession services
  • Other support services – e.g. packaging and labeling services, convention and trade show organizing
  • Other misc. professional and technical services – e.g. marketing research and public opinion polling, photographic services, commercial photography, translation and interpretation services
  • Electronic and commercial equipment repair & maintenance
  • Personal services purchased by businesses
  • Telecommunications equipment
  • Court reporter documents
  • Advertising materials
  • Publications – e.g. newspapers, magazines, commercial printing