Subdivision 1. Certification. A report or statement required by sections 383B.046 to 383B.054 shall be signed and certified as true by the individual required to file the report. Any individual who signs and certifies to be true a report or statement which the individual knows contains false information or who knowingly omits required information is guilty of a gross misdemeanor.

Subd. 2. Transmittal, retention, public inspection. The filing officer shall promptly transmit to the appropriate city clerk a copy of each statement and report filed by a candidate for city office, a political committee or fund that discloses contributions or expenditures to influence a city or an elected city official. The filing officer and each city clerk shall retain the statements, reports and copies and make them available for public inspection for a period of five years after the date of receipt by the filing officer.

Subd. 3. Changes and corrections. Any material changes in information previously submitted and any corrections to a report or statement shall be reported in writing to the filing officer within ten days following the date of the event prompting the change or the date upon which the individual filing became aware of the inaccuracy. The change or correction shall identify the form and the paragraph containing the information to be changed or corrected. Any individual who willfully fails to report a material change or correction is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Subd. 4. Record keeping. Each individual required to file any report or statement or to keep any account pursuant to sections 383B.046 to 383B.054 shall maintain and preserve for four years the records, including any vouchers, canceled checks, bills, invoices, worksheets and receipts, that will provide in sufficient detail the necessary information from which the accounts and the filed reports and statements may be verified, explained, clarified and checked for accuracy and completeness.

Subd. 5. Penalties. The filing officer shall notify by certified mail or personal service any individual who fails to file a statement or report required by sections 383B.046 to 383B.054. Except for any campaign report of a principal campaign committee due before an election, if an individual fails to file any statement or report within seven days after receiving a notice, the filing officer may impose a late filing fee of $5 per day, not to exceed $100, commencing on the eighth day after receiving notice. If a treasurer of a principal campaign committee fails to file a campaign report due before an election within three days of the date due, regardless of whether the treasurer has received any notice, the filing officer may impose a late filing fee of $50 per day, not to exceed $500, commencing on the fourth day after the date the statement was due. The filing officer shall further notify by certified mail or personal service any individual who fails to file any statement or report within 21 days after receiving a first notice that the individual may be subject to a criminal penalty for failure to file the statement or report. An individual who knowingly fails to file the statement or report within seven days after receiving a second notice from the filing officer is guilty of a misdemeanor. A filing officer who violates any provision of this subdivision is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Subd. 6. Recovery of late filing fees. A filing officer may bring an action in the Fourth Judicial District Court to recover any late filing fee imposed pursuant to subdivision 5. All money recovered shall be deposited in the general fund of Hennepin County.

Subd. 7. Reports of violations. If any individual other than a county official or candidate for county office fails to file the required statement or report within seven days after a second notice as provided in subdivision 5, the filing officer shall inform the Hennepin County attorney that a second notice was sent and that the individual failed to file the required statement or report. If a county official or candidate fails to file a report or statement after a second notice as provided in subdivision 5, the filing officer shall notify the attorney general.

Subd. 8. Report by subordinate. (a) Any deputy, clerk, employee or other subordinate of a filing officer who has knowledge or reason to believe that a violation of sections 383B.041 to 383B.057 has occurred, shall immediately transmit a report of that knowledge or belief to that filing officer, together with any evidence of the violation coming into the subordinate's possession.

(b) Any filing officer who has knowledge or reason to believe that a violation of sections 383B.041 to 383B.058 has occurred shall immediately transmit a report of that knowledge or belief to the county attorney of the county in which the violation is thought to have occurred, together with any evidence of the violation coming into the filing officer's possession.

(c) The filing officer shall also immediately send a copy of the report to the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board.

(d) A violation of this subdivision is a misdemeanor.

History: 1980 c 362 s 14; 1986 c 444; 1997 c 202 art 2 s 63; 1998 c 254 art 2 s 39