Advisory Opinions Library
Search and research 1,071 opinions published by the Minnesota Department of Administration (1993–present). New to the legal archive? Try Exploring by topic.
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Advisory Opinion 18-009 18-009A member of the public asked whether a state agency had violated the Data Practices Act because it denied him access to the data he requested (school building radon testing/mitigation data). The agency stated that per M…
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Advisory Opinion 18-008 18-008A county asked about the classification of an investigative report about an elected county sheriff. The Commissioner agreed with the County that the sheriff was a public official employee and that “retirement” is a form…
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Advisory Opinion 18-007 18-007A City asked if it was required to provide access to a sealed criminal record pursuant to 5 USC § 9101. The language in that provision allows military recruiters to access certain records maintained by state and local l…
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Advisory Opinion 18-006 18-006A member of the public asked whether a University had violated the Data Practices Act because it had not provided him with access to the data he requested (public personnel data on three employees) as of the date of his…
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Advisory Opinion 18-005 18-005A data subject asked if a county responded appropriately to a data request when it failed to comply within ten business days. The Commissioner concluded that Minn. Stat. § 13.04, subdivision 3, is clear: entities must c…
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Advisory Opinion 18-004 18-004A school district asked about the classification of data it maintained about a School Resource Officer (SRO) employed by a city and assigned to the District. Based on Advisory Opinion 97-030, the Commissioner opined tha…
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Advisory Opinion 18-003 18-003A member of the public asked whether a City Council had violated the Open Meeting Law by holding a meeting outside the geographic boundaries of the body, not providing a copy of members’ materials, and eating dinner tog…
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Advisory Opinion 18-002 18-002A police department asked about the classification of records involving juveniles. The Commissioner opined that per Minnesota Statutes, section 260B.171, when a juvenile is or may be delinquent or is or may be involved …
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Advisory Opinion 18-001 18-001A state agency asked about the classification of data in an arbitrator’s order reversing all discipline of a public official. The Commissioner opined that Minn. Stat. § 13.43, subd. 2(e) classified the data as public. R…
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Advisory Opinion 17-010 17-010A school district asked whether it had to provide a copy of an audio-recorded interview with a student to the student’s parent when the recording included educational data on multiple students. The Commissioner opined t…
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Advisory Opinion 17-009 17-009a County asked about the classification of the “outcome of a complaint” and the transcript of arbitration proceedings. The Commissioner opined that because the arbitrator reversed discipline for the conduct related to t…
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Advisory Opinion 17-008 17-008, a City asked about the classification of data that identify the location of a victim of domestic abuse, when the data are maintained by a nonprofit domestic violence advocacy agency. The Commissioner concluded that wh…
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Advisory Opinion 17-007 17-007a member of the public asked about determinations a county made regarding the appointment of county responsible authorities [“RAs”] and data practices compliance officials [“DPCOs”]. The Commissioner opined that the cou…
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Advisory Opinion 17-006 17-006a member of the public asked whether a town board violated the Open Meeting Law when a quorum of members met and discussed documents prior to calling a meeting to order. The Commissioner opined that the issue involved a…
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Advisory Opinion 17-005 17-005a member of the public asked whether a school board violated the Open Meeting Law, when a quorum of members sent a letter to another entity. The Commissioner opined that the Board did not comply with the law because the…
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Advisory Opinion 17-004 17-004a city which operates a self-insured group health plan for its employees asked whether data collected by the third-party administrator were government data, how they would be classified, and whether the administrator wa…
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Advisory Opinion 17-003 17-003a member of the public asked whether a City Council properly closed a meeting pursuant to the attorney-client privilege exception to the Open Meeting Law. The Commissioner could not determine whether the Council made th…
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Advisory Opinion 17-002 17-002a newspaper asked if a city police department had properly classified various data elements in various police incident reports (ICRs). The Commissioner determined that the city had properly redacted some data elements, …
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Advisory Opinion 17-001 17-001A member of the public asked whether he could have access to a former teacher’s time sheet data for a time period following a public court case. The District denied access to the data, arguing that the data were private…
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Advisory Opinion 16-006 16-006a school board asked whether it might meet in private facilitated discussions designed to, among other goals, “improve trust, relationships, communications, and collaborative problem solving” among board members, withou…
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Advisory Opinion 16-005 16-005a member of the public asked whether a Township Board complied with Open Meeting Law (OML) requirements for a special meeting; whether the board held serial meetings; and whether the board violated the law when a quorum…
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Advisory Opinion 16-004 16-004a school district asked whether it would be in compliance with state and federal laws governing data on students if it included certain data in job postings for work with teachers to provide services to students with di…
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Advisory Opinion 16-003 16-003a newspaper reporter asked whether a city council properly closed a meeting pursuant to the attorney-client privilege exception to the Open Meeting Law (Minn. Stat. § 13D.05, subd. 3(b)). The Commissioner opined that th…
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Advisory Opinion 16-002 16-002a member of the public asked whether a city council complied with the Open Meeting Law requirement to provide a summary of conclusions following a closed meeting for a performance evaluation (Minn. Stat. § 13D.05, subd.…
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Advisory Opinion 16-001 16-001a school district asked about the classification of data in a Notice of Removal sent to a school board member who was also a former employee of the District. The Notice of Removal stemmed from a complaint against the in…