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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Government Structure & Administration (130 opinions)
Elected and appointed officials
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Advisory Opinion 26-003 26-003A school district asked about the classification of data it maintained in an investigative report about the alleged misconduct of a school board member. The district noted that it had not made a clear determination on w…
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Advisory Opinion 24-003 24-003A school district asked whether emails and similar written correspondence regarding school district business that were sent between school board members were classified as private data under Minnesota Statutes, section …
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Advisory Opinion 19-001 19-001A city asked whether it responded appropriately to a data request for information from a Facebook page maintained by the mayor, when it replied to the requester that the information was not government data. The Commissi…
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Advisory Opinion 18-013 18-013The Star Tribune asked the Commissioner about the classification of correspondence between a County Commissioner and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC). The Commissioner relied on the reasoning of A…
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Advisory Opinion 14-019 14-019A state agency asked about its classification of data determination related to an internal audit of one of its grantees, including supporting documentation and other documents collected as part of the audit. The grantee…
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Advisory Opinion 14-008 14-008A School District planned to fill an open seat on its school board by appointment. The media asked for public data about the applicants under Minnesota Statutes, section 13.601. The District first responded that the dat…
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Advisory Opinion 12-018 12-018A member of the public asked whether an entity improperly released private data about a board member. At the time it released data to the public, the entity’s human resources director considered board members to be enti…
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Advisory Opinion 12-007 12-007A city asked about the classification of certain data it collected and maintained about a candidate for public office. The candidate submitted an Affidavit of Candidacy and a copy of her driver’s license as proof of res…
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Advisory Opinion 11-019 11-019A school district asked about the classification of certain school board correspondence. Correspondence (email) sent from one individual to more than one school board member, or sent to one board member by more than one…
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Advisory Opinion 11-006 11-006Is the email sent to an elected official from a member of the public “government data” under Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13? If the email is not “government data,” can it be classified as “data on individuals?” If the e…
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Advisory Opinion 10-023 10-023Has the City of North Saint Paul complied with Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, in denying access to data in an email?
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Advisory Opinion 09-026 09-026Did the City of Warren comply with Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, in responding to a request for certain data relating to checks issued by Northern Minnesota Power Agency to City officials? Did the City of Warren compl…
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Advisory Opinion 09-017 09-017Did Independent School District 861, Winona, comply with Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, in response to a June 19, 2009, for access to emails between District School Board members and the District Superintendent from Ju…
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Advisory Opinion 08-019 08-019If School District 544, Fergus Falls, releases data in two anonymous letters that set forth complaints about X, would X’s rights as a data subject be violated?
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Advisory Opinion 07-022 07-022Did the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency comply with Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, when it denied public access to the home addresses of individual members of the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group?
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Advisory Opinion 07-004 07-004Did the City of Minneapolis comply with Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, when it refused to provide the names of employees whose private personnel data was either removed or redacted from council members' and the Mayor's…
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Advisory Opinion 05-036 05-036Did the City of Minneapolis comply with Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, in responding to a data request for contact information about city council candidates?
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Advisory Opinion 03-032 03-032The City of Minneapolis requires certain individuals to provide the name of the source of a loan as part of a statement of economic interest. Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, how are the data classified for t…Elected and appointed officials Legislative authority and intent Statutory construction (Ch. 645) Statutory construction (Ch. 645) Statutory construction (Ch. 645) #Absurd or unreasonable result (645.17) #Campaign finance and public disclosure (Chapter 10A) #Conflicting or irreconcilable provisions (645.26) #Financial disclosure #Financial disclosure statements
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Advisory Opinion 03-011 03-011Are members of the Minneapolis City Council employees for the purposes of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13?
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Advisory Opinion 02-013 02-013Is a school board member an
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Advisory Opinion 02-006 02-006Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, did Independent School District 728, Elk River, respond appropriately to a request for access to the following data: surveys entitled
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Advisory Opinion 01-039 01-039Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, did the City of Cottage Grove respond appropriately to a request for access to secret ballots that were intended but not used for the purpose of selecting finalists to fill a …
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Advisory Opinion 00-065 00-065Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, did Intermediate District 287 respond appropriately to an August 24, 2000, request for access to data about job applicants? Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, did Int…Elected and appointed officials Multiple data subjects Personnel data Redaction #Data incidental to the data subject #Finalist for public employment (13.43, subd. 3) #Inextricably intertwined data (See also: Northwest Publications, Inc. v. City of Bloomington, 499 N.W.2d 509) #Interviews #Interviews
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Advisory Opinion 99-043 99-043Is an Independent School District 2711 School Board member an
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Advisory Opinion 99-013 99-013Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Chapter 13, did the Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor properly deny public access to individual legislator's survey responses?