Campaign Finance Board tells committee it has no-request budget, outlines local registration and lobbying reporting changes

Jeff Sigurdsson, executive director of the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board, told the Elections Finance and Government Operations Committee the board is seeking no substantive change to its base budget and outlined program expansions and rule changes that the board is implementing or recommending.

The board asked for no change items beyond modest inflation adjustments built into the governor’s budget request, Sigurdsson said, and presented a base biennial budget of $1,793,000. He described the agency as “an independent agency” that is included in the governor’s budget but does not report to the governor’s office.

The board administers campaign finance reporting for state candidates and party units, economic interest statements for roughly 3,100 public officials, and lobbyist registration and reporting. Sigurdsson told the committee local ballot-question committees for levies and bonds must register with the board under chapter 10A if activity exceeds $750 as of Jan. 1; previously those entities reported under chapter 211A to local officials only. He said the change will put local ballot reports on the board’s website and that the board is…