Board rules large donations need to be disclosed

Posted at 2:22 PM on June 30, 2011 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2012, MN Legislature, Mark Dayton

From MPR's Sasha Aslanian:

Minnesota's campaign finance board ruled today that corporations that spend money trying to influence the way people vote on proposed constitutional amendments must disclose the names of large donors.

The board's ruling means donors spending more than a $1000 to help a corporation give at least $5000 to a ballot campaign would need to be identified. The ruling has implications for next year's election, when voters will decide whether to change the state's constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman.

James Bopp Jr., an attorney representing Minnesotans for Marriage, a group that supports the amendment testified against disclosing donor names

"There has been a concerned wide organized comprehensive nationwide effort to harass the supporters of traditional marriage," Bopp said.

Groups opposed to the marriage amendment didn't testify before the board. Common Cause praised the ruling for closing "loopholes that would have allowed millions of dollars of undisclosed contributions to flow to both sides of the marriage debate."

Here's the ruling by the MN Campaign Finance Board.

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