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 23-004 23-004A data subject asked whether a city council violated the Open Meeting Law when it held multiple closed sessions under Minnesota Statutes, section 13D.05 subd. 2(b), to discuss allegations against an individual subject t…
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Advisory Opinion 23-003 23-003Members of the public asked whether a city council violated the Open Meeting Law when it discussed topics during a special meeting that were not described in the special meeting notice's purpose. The Commissioner opined…
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Advisory Opinion 23-002 23-002A member of the public asked whether a county responded appropriately to a request for the entity’s data inventory. The county informed the member of the public that the data inventory required by Minnesota Statutes, se…
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Advisory Opinion 23-001 23-001A data subject asked whether a joint powers entity responded appropriately to a data subject request when it did not provide responsive data within 10 business days. The Commissioner opined that the entity did not respo…
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Advisory Opinion 22-009 22-009A member of the public asked whether the school board of a charter school violated the Open Meeting Law when it did not record the closed portion of a meeting and whether the board provided appropriate notice of the pur…
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Advisory Opinion 22-008 22-008A member of the public asked whether a township board of supervisors violated the Open Meeting Law when it closed a meeting to review applications to appoint a new board supervisor. The board maintained that its meeting…
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Advisory Opinion 22-007 22-007A member of the public asked whether a county attorney’s office responded appropriately to a request for data, including correspondence and non-work product materials. The county indicated that any responsive data were …
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Advisory Opinion 22-006 22-006A city asked whether data it collected, created, and maintained pursuant to a contract with a private entity were government data, subject to the Data Practices Act. The Commissioner opined that the data were government…
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Advisory Opinion 22-005 22-005A government entity asked whether a final disposition of disciplinary action occurred for the purposes of Minnesota Statutes, section 13.43, subdivision 2(a)(5) when the entity decided to discipline an employee, the emp…
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Advisory Opinion 22-004 22-004A member of the public asked whether a township board of supervisors violated the Open Meeting Law when a quorum of the board held a private discussion before its noticed meeting, and whether the board violated the OML …
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Advisory Opinion 22-003 22-003A member of the public asked whether a city responded appropriately to a request for a copy of body camera data that was presented as evidence in court. The city argued that the request should have been directed to the …
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Advisory Opinion 22-002 22-002A member of the public asked whether a township board of supervisors violated the Open Meeting Law when it directed him to access its record of votes that were contained in meeting minutes posted on its website. The Com…
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Advisory Opinion 22-001 22-001A member of the public asked whether a joint powers entity responded appropriately to a request for a copy of its data access policies as well as to a request for data about himself made pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, …
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Advisory Opinion 21-008 21-008A parent asked the Commissioner whether a school district complied with the Data Practices Act and the federal Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) when it disclosed the parent's student's directory informati…
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Advisory Opinion 21-007 21-007A city asked the Commissioner whether data in a recording made by an employee on a personal device and uploaded to the city’s computer system was government data, subject to the Data Practices Act. If so, the city asked…
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Advisory Opinion 21-006 21-006A member of the public asked the Commissioner whether a County Sheriff’s Office responded appropriately to a data request, and a request for a “short description explaining the necessity” for a security information clas…
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Advisory Opinion 21-005 21-005A school district asked the Commissioner about the classification of data that the district maintained about teachers who attended a professional development program offered by the District. The Commissioner concluded t…
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Advisory Opinion 21-004 21-004A member of the public asked for recordings of a township board of supervisors meetings closed for labor negotiations pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 13D.03. The Board argued that members voted to post the recor…
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Advisory Opinion 21-003 21-003A member of the public asked whether the conduct of a School Board violated the Open Meeting Law when a quorum of the School Board attended a meeting in person, while members of the public were limited to remote attenda…
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Advisory Opinion 21-002 21-002A member of the public made a data request to a school district. She requested a copy of the recording of a school district open meeting. The school district denied access to the recording, indicating the recording cont…
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Advisory Opinion 21-001 21-001A member of the public asked about the conduct of the West Lakeland Township Board of Supervisors under the Open Meeting Law, Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13D. The member of the public raised four issues including the re…
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Advisory Opinion 20-006 20-006The City of Savage requested an advisory opinion regarding the classification of email addresses it collected to notify the public of information to participate in a town hall event. The Commissioner opined that the pla…
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Advisory Opinion 20-005 20-005The Minnesota Department of Education requested an advisory opinion regarding access to private and confidential data within the same government entity, as well as sharing of private data between school districts and co…
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Advisory Opinion 20-004 20-004A City asked about whether it was the agency with “primary investigative responsibility” pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 13.82, subdivision 7, when the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) investigates an offic…
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Advisory Opinion 20-003 20-003A member of the public made a data request to a school district. He requested an email attachment that contained a district employee’s “contact list.” The school district denied access to the contact list, asserting con…