Some members of the coalition which established the Committee are also lobbyist principals with legislative agendas of their own. In some cases, these individual coalition members may lobby for the ballot question as a part of their own agendas. In these cases the lobbyists will register and report to the Board based on the coalition member they represent. The Committee wants comply with all of the provisions of Minnesota Statutes, chapter 10A, when it accepts contributions or engages in its other activities. The Committee is required to keep records and report the contribution in the same way it records and reports all other contributions received.
Corporations are a particular type of unregistered association.
The Chapter 10A requirements for corporate contributions to ballot question committees must be determined in the context of the relevant Chapter 10A provisions, but also in the context of the statute granting corporations the right to participate in ballot question activities. A corporation may not make a contribution to a candidate for nomination, election, or appointment to a political office or to a committee organized wholly or partly to promote or defeat a candidate. While Chapter 211B is not within the jurisdiction of the Board to interpret, we must acknowledge its provisions when they bear on the interpretation of Chapter 10A, for which we are responsible. We believe that the specific grant of authority to make contributions to promote or defeat ballot questions provided in Chapter 211B is irreconcilable with, and therefore supersedes, the Chapter 10A restrictions otherwise imposed on contributions from unregistered associations. The Board sees no reason to deviate from its prior opinion.