Advisory Opinion 97-039
September 24, 1997; Minnesota Department of Public Service
Background & Issues
The Minnesota Department of Public Service contracted with an outside consultant who submitted documents to the agency. When a member of the consulting team requested access to the records, the lead consultant objected to their release. The Department asked the Commissioner to determine whether these submitted documents are classified as public.
Commissioner Decision
The Commissioner decided that documents submitted to the Department by a contracted consulting firm are public 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.
Excerpted Ruling / ConclusionBased on the facts and information provided, my opinion on the issue raised by Ms. Hanson is as follows:
Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Section 13.03, subdivision 1, the data contained in documents submitted to the Department by a member of a consulting firm with which the Department has contracted are public.
September 24, 1997; Minnesota Department of Public Service
9/24/1997 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:For purposes of simplification, the information presented by the person who requested this opinion and the response from the government entity with which the person disagrees are presented in summary form. Copies of the complete submissions are on file at the offices of PIPA and, with the exception of any data classified as not public, are available for public access.On August 1, 1997, PIPA received a letter dated July 28, 1997, from JoAnn Hanson, Assistant Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Service. In her letter, Ms. Hanson requested that the Commissioner issue an advisory opinion regarding the classification of certain data maintained by the Department. A summary of the facts surrounding this matter is as follows. Ms. Hanson wrote, The attached documents were sent to either the Department of Public Service or its attorney by Bion Ostrander. The Department has contracted with Mr. Ostrander, through his firm Ostrander Consulting, for professional consulting services. Ms. Hanson further stated that a member of the Ostrander Consulting team has requested access to the documents. She wrote, Mr. Ostrander has refused to consent to the release of these documents to [the member of the consulting team]. Ms. Hanson asked that the Commissioner issue an opinion regarding the classification of the data in the documents.
Issue:
In her request for an opinion, Ms. Hanson asked the Commissioner to address the following issue:
Discussion:
Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Section 13.02, subdivision 7, government data are all data collected, created, received, maintained, and/or disseminated by a government entity. Further, pursuant to Section 13.03, subdivision 1, government data are presumed public unless otherwise classified by statute, temporary classification, or federal law.
Based on the information provided to the Commissioner, the Ostrander Consulting firm has apparently entered into a contract to provide services to the Department. Through that relationship, the data in question were furnished to the Department and thus became government data for the purposes of Chapter 13. Because there does not appear to be any statute, temporary classification, or federal law providing that the data be classified as not public, it is the Commissioner's opinion that those data are public. Opinion:Based on the facts and information provided, my opinion on the issue raised by Ms. Hanson is as follows:
Signed:
Elaine S. Hansen
Dated: September 24, 1997 |