Advisory Opinion 19-002
March 8, 2019; Minnesota Board of Aging
Background & Issues
A member of the public asked the Minnesota Board on Aging for copies of its official policies on how to request public and private data. After about ten weeks passed with no response from the agency, she requested an advisory opinion. The issue was whether the agency responded properly to her request for copies of these policies.
Commissioner Decision
The Commissioner determined that the agency did not respond appropriately to the request for its data policies.
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Excerpted Ruling / ConclusionBased on the facts and information provided, the Commissioner’s opinion on the issue is as follows:
The Responsible Authority for the Minnesota Board on Aging did not respond appropriately to a request for copies of the policies required under Minnesota Statutes, section 13.025, subdivisions 2 and 3.
March 8, 2019; Minnesota Board of Aging
3/8/2019 4:00:32 PM
This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 13.072 (2018). It is based on the facts and information available to the Commissioner as described below.
Facts and Procedural History:
Beverley Berg asked for an advisory opinion regarding the Minnesota Board of Aging’s response to a request for copies of the policies required pursuant to the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13 (Data Practices Act).The Board declined to submit comments in response to Ms. Berg’s request.
Ms. Berg wrote:
November 11, 2018, I submitted a Data Practices request to Responsible Authority Kari Benson for 1) the Policy for requesting Public Data and 2) the Policy for requesting Private Data. November 11 was about ten weeks ago. Responsible Authority Kari Benson has failed to respond to my request for either policy. The public is not required to submit Data Practices requests to obtain these policies. Entities are required by the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act to have these policies available at all times by making them available from the entity's website, providing them upon request or having them available at the entity's office.
Issue:
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Based on the opinion request, the Commissioner agreed to address the following issue: Did the Responsible Authority for the Minnesota Board on Aging respond appropriately to a request for copies of the policies required under subdivisions 2 and 3 of Minnesota Statutes, section 13.025? |
Discussion:
Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 13.03, when a government entity receives a data request from a requester who is not the subject of the data, the entity is required to respond in an appropriate and prompt manner and within a reasonable time. (See section 13.03, subdivision 2(a), and Minnesota Rules, part 1205.0300.) In responding, an entity must provide the data, advise that the data are classified such that the requester cannot have access, or inform the requester that the data do not exist.
Under Minnesota Statutes, section 13.025, an entity’s responsible authority “must prepare a written policy detailing its data access policies.” Further, it provides that the responsible authority “shall make copies of the policies available to the public.” The responsible authority may fulfill that obligation by distributing free copies, posting the policies in a conspicuous place, or posting it on the entity’s website.
Minnesota Rules, Chapter 1205 also provides guidance about access procedures for members of the public and data subjects.
The Commissioner has issued numerous opinions on the access policies and procedures required by Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, the Data Practices Act. (See Advisory Opinions 04-049, 05-003, and 13-007.) The requirement for access policies was effective January 1, 2001. The Legislature recodified the access policy provisions in section 13.025 in 2012.
The Responsible Authority for the Minnesota Board on Aging did not reply at all to Ms. Berg’s request for public data, which is not an appropriate response to a request for access to government data. Further, section 13.025 requires government entities to make the access policies available to the public in a manner such that the public does not have to ask for them.
Opinion:
Based on the facts and information provided, the Commissioner’s opinion on the issue is as follows:
The Responsible Authority for the Minnesota Board on Aging did not respond appropriately to a request for copies of the policies required under Minnesota Statutes, section 13.025, subdivisions 2 and 3.
Signed:
Alice Roberts-Davis
Commissioner
March 8, 2019