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03-002

Advisory Opinion 03-002

January 21, 2003; Houston County

Published January 21, 2003
Personnel data
Opinion Brief AI-Generated

Background & Issues

Houston County received an IRS Notice of Levy on Wages, Salary and Other Income as well as a subsequent release of the levy. The county asked the Commissioner of Administration how these IRS records are classified under state data practices law.

Commissioner Decision

The Commissioner decided that both the notice of levy and the release of levy are private data.

Automated synopsis generated for quick reference only — it has not been reviewed word-for-word against the official record and is not legal advice. Always review the full opinion text below for the Commissioner's actual determination, or see the original document on mn.gov. Think this summary misstates the opinion? Report it.

Full Text of Advisory Opinion 03-002 Reproduced as published by the Minnesota Department of Administration · retrieved from mn.gov on August 21, 2026
Excerpted Ruling / Conclusion
Based on the facts and information provided, my opinion on the issue that Mr. Comstock raised is as follows:
Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, the Notice of Levy on Wages, Salary and Other Income and the Release of the Levy are private data.
Advisory Opinion 03-002

January 21, 2003; Houston County

1/21/2003 10:14:43 AM

This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to section 13.072 of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13 - the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. It is based on the facts and information available to the Commissioner as described below.


Facts and Procedural History:

On January 3, 2003, IPAD received a memorandum, dated January 2, 2003, from Tim Comstock, Director of Personnel and Central Services for Houston County. In his letter, Mr. Comstock asked the Commissioner to issue an advisory opinion regarding the classification of certain data the County maintains. Then, on January 15, 2003, IPAD received a memorandum, dated same, from Mr. Comstock. In this memorandum, Mr. Comstock asked the Commissioner to amend his original request to include the classification of additional data the County maintains.

A summary of the facts is as follows. The County has received a Notice of Levy on Wages, Salary and Other Income from the IRS. In addition, the County has received a Release of the Levy. Mr. Comstock asked the Commissioner to issue an opinion regarding the classification of the Notice and the Release.


Issue:

In his request for an opinion, Mr. Comstock asked the Commissioner to address the following issue:

Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, what is the classification of the following data that Houston County maintains: a Notice of Levy on Wages, Salary and Other Income, and a Release of the Levy, both from the IRS?


Discussion:

Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 13.03, subdivision 1, all government data are public unless otherwise classified.

Data on an individual collected because s/he is or was an employee of, performs services on a voluntary basis for, or acts as an independent contractor with a government entity are classified pursuant to section 13.43, personnel data. Subdivision 2 of section 13.43 provides a list of most of the personnel data that are public and subdivision 4 classifies remaining personnel data as private.

In the case of this opinion, according to Mr. Comstock, the Notice and the Release are about an individual who is or was an employee or an independent contractor for the County. Therefore, the data in the Notice and the Release are classified pursuant to section 13.43. Further, because those data are not the types treated as public pursuant to subdivision 2 of section 13.43, the data in the documents are private and cannot be released.

Opinion:

Based on the facts and information provided, my opinion on the issue that Mr. Comstock raised is as follows:

Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, the Notice of Levy on Wages, Salary and Other Income and the Release of the Levy are private data.

Signed:

Brian J. Lamb
Commissioner

Dated: January 21, 2003