Subd. 1. Governor and lieutenant governor candidates.

For the purposes of sections 10A.11 to 10A.34 a candidate for governor and a candidate for lieutenant governor, running together, shall be deemed to be a single candidate. Except as provided in subdivision 3, all expenditures made by and all approved expenditures made on behalf of the candidate for lieutenant governor shall be considered to be expenditures by and approved expenditures on behalf of the candidate for governor.

Subd. 2. Maximum expenditures.

1. (a) In a year in which an election is held for an office sought by a candidate, no expenditures shall be made by the principal campaign committee of that candidate, nor any approved expenditures made on behalf of that candidate which expenditures and approved expenditures result in an aggregate amount in excess of the following:

   1. (1) for governor and lieutenant governor, running together, $1,626,691;
   2. (2) for attorney general, $271,116;
   3. (3) for secretary of state, state treasurer, and state auditor, separately, $135,559;
   4. (4) for state senator, $40,669;
   5. (5) for state representative, $20,335.
2. (b) If a special election cycle occurs during a general election cycle, expenditures by or on behalf of a candidate in the special election do not count as expenditures by or on behalf of the candidate in the general election.
3. (c) The expenditure limits in this subdivision for an office are increased by ten percent for a candidate who is running for that office for the first time and who has not run previously for any other office whose territory now includes a population that is more than one-third of the population in the territory of the new office.

Subd. 2a. Aggregated expenditures.

If a candidate makes expenditures from more than one principal campaign committee for nomination or election to statewide office in the same election year, the amount of expenditures from all of the candidate's principal campaign committees for statewide office for that election year must be aggregated for purposes of the application of the limits on campaign expenditures under subdivision 2, clauses (a) to (c).

Subd. 3. Endorsement of lieutenant governor.

Notwithstanding subdivision 2, clause (a), a candidate for endorsement for the office of lieutenant governor at the convention of a political party may make expenditures and approved expenditures of $30,000 or five percent of the amount in subdivision 2, clause (a), whichever is greater, to seek endorsement. This amount shall be in addition to the amount which may be expended pursuant to subdivision 2, clause (a).

Subd. 4. Expenditures before February 28, 1978.

The limits prescribed in this section shall not apply to any expenditure or approved expenditure made or advance of credit incurred before February 28, 1978 unless the goods or services for which they were made or incurred are consumed or used after February 28, 1978.

Subd. 5. Primary races.

Notwithstanding the limits imposed by subdivision 2, the winning candidate in a contested race in a primary who received fewer than twice as many votes as any one of the candidate's opponents in that primary may make aggregate expenditures and approved expenditures equal to 120 percent of the applicable amount as set forth in subdivision 2, as adjusted by section 10A.255. A candidate in a contested primary race may not, under this subdivision, make aggregate expenditures and approved expenditures of more than 100 percent of the expenditure limits imposed by subdivision 2 until after the primary.

Subd. 6. Limit in nonelection year.

In any year before an election year for the office held or sought, the aggregate amount of expenditures by and approved expenditures on behalf of a candidate for or holder of that office shall not exceed 20 percent of the expenditure limit set forth in subdivision 2.

Subd. 7. Publication of expenditure limits.

On or before December 31 of each nonelection year the board shall determine and publish in the State Register the expenditure limits for each office for the next calendar year as prescribed by subdivision 2.

Subd. 8.

Repealed, 1978 c 463 s 109

Subd. 9.

Repealed, 1978 c 463 s 109

Subd. 10. Effect of opponent's conduct.

1. (a) A candidate who has agreed to be bound by the expenditure limits imposed by this section as a condition of receiving a public subsidy for the candidate's campaign is released from the expenditure limits but remains eligible to receive a public subsidy if the candidate has an opponent who does not agree to be bound by the limits and receives contributions or makes or becomes obligated to make expenditures during that election cycle in excess of the following limits:

   1. (1) up to ten days before the primary election, receipts or expenditures equal to 20 percent of the expenditure limit for that office as set forth in subdivision 2; or
   2. (2) after ten days before the primary election, cumulative receipts or expenditures during that election cycle equal to 50 percent of the expenditure limit for that office as set forth in subdivision 2.
2. (b) A candidate who has not agreed to be bound by expenditure limits, or the candidate's principal campaign committee, shall file written notice with the board and provide written notice to any opponent of the candidate for the same office within 24 hours of exceeding the limits in paragraph (a), clause (2). The notice must state only that the candidate or candidate's principal campaign committee has received contributions or made or become obligated to make campaign expenditures in excess of the limits in paragraph (a), clause (2). Upon receipt of the notice the candidate who has agreed to be bound by the limits is no longer bound by the expenditure limits.

Subd. 11. Carryforward; disposition of other funds.

After all campaign expenditures and noncampaign disbursements for an election cycle have been made, an amount up to 50 percent of the expenditure limit for the office may be carried forward. Any remaining amount up to the total amount of the public subsidy from the state elections campaign fund and any public matching subsidy must be returned to the state treasury for credit to the general fund under section 10A.324. Any remaining amount in excess of the total public subsidy must be contributed to the state elections campaign fund or a political party for multicandidate expenditures as defined in section 10A.275.

Subd. 12. Unused postage and credit balances carried forward.

Postage that is purchased but not used during an election cycle and credit balances at vendors that exceed a combined total of $500 must be carried forward and counted as expenditures during the election cycle during which they are used.

Subd. 13. Independent expenditures; limits increased.

1. (a) The expenditure limits in this section are increased by the sum of independent expenditures made in opposition to a candidate plus independent expenditures made on behalf of the candidate's major political party opponents, other than expenditures by an association targeted to inform solely its own dues-paying members of the association's position on a candidate.
2. (b) Within 48 hours after receipt of an expenditure report or notice required by section 10A.20, subdivision 3, 6, or 6b, the board shall notify each candidate in the race of the increase in the expenditure limit for the candidates against whom the independent expenditures have been made.
3. (c) Within three days after providing this notice, the board shall pay each candidate against whom the independent expenditures have been made, if the candidate is eligible to receive a public subsidy and has raised twice the minimum match required, an additional public subsidy equal to one-half the independent expenditures. The amount needed to pay the additional public subsidy under this subdivision is appropriated from the general fund to the board.