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Advisory Opinion 97-037

September 3, 1997; City of Lafayette

9/3/1997 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 July 18, 1997, the Commissioner received a letter dated July 17, 1997, from William Everett and Becky Thorson, attorneys representing the City of Lafayette Fire Department Relief Association, hereinafter Relief Association. In their letter, Mr. Everett and Ms. Thorson requested that the Commissioner issue an opinion regarding the classification of certain data maintained by the Relief Association.

A summary of the facts as presented by Mr. Everett and Ms. Thorson is as follows. A request was made by a member of the public for access to financial data from the Relief Association's general fund. Mr. Everett and Ms. Thorson wrote, The Relief Association...withheld data pertaining to the Relief Association's general fund' because the statutory classification of this data was unclear. The Association seeks an Opinion from the Commissioner of Administration on the question regarding public access to the Relief Association's general fund data.

Issue:

In their request for an opinion, Mr. Everett and Ms. Thorson asked the Commissioner to address the following issue:

Are the financial records of the general fund of the City of Lafayette Fire Department Relief Association public data under the Minnesota Statutes Chapter 13?

Discussion:

As Mr. Everett and Ms. Thorson stated in their request, the Commissioner, in a previous advisory opinion, addressed the issue of whether data maintained by Fire Relief Associations are subject to Minnesota Statutes Chapter 13. In Advisory Opinion 94-043, the Commissioner opined, As the Legislature has determined that local fire relief associations of all types are subject to Chapter 13, public data maintained by the Association are accessible by the public in accordance with Chapter 13.

Regarding the specific issue at hand, Mr. Everett and Ms. Thorson stated that pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Section 424A.001, subdivision 4, the general fund is used for the good and benefit of the Association as determined by the Association by-laws. They added that its resources are non-governmental and include dues, fines, initiation fees, entertainment revenues and any moneys or property donated, given, granted or devised by any person, for unspecified uses. Mr. Everett and Ms. Thorson contrasted the general fund to that of the Relief Association's special fund which is a pension trust fund contributed to by the City of Lafayette and from the two-percent insurance premium tax and amortization aid from the State of Minnesota.

Mr. Everett and Ms. Thorson then discussed the fact that Minnesota Statutes Section 424A.06, subdivision 2, delineates rights of access to records of the general fund but does not provide public access to those records. As they stated, Section 424A.06, subdivision 2, provides that the general fund records shall be open for inspection by any member of the relief association at reasonable time and places. Mr. Everett and Ms. Thorson wrote:

The legislature appears to have created a classification for the general fund data that is akin to private data because section 424A.06 provides access only to association members. The classification of the general fund data under section 424A.06 therefore appears to be nonpublic, and according to section 13.03, subd. 1 of [Chapter 13], is inaccessible with respect to [the member of the public requesting the data].

Mr. Everett and Ms. Thorson again contrasted the access language relating to the general fund to a similar provision relating to the special fund. The relevant language is found in Section 424A.05, subdivision 2, and states, [The records and bylaws of the relief association's special fund] shall be public and shall be open for inspection by any member of the relief association, any officer or employee of the state or the municipality, or any member of the public, at reasonable times and places.

Mr. Everett and Ms. Thorson wrote:

When [section 425A.05, subdivision 2, and section 424A.06, subdivision 2] were written, the legislature appears to have been most intent upon delineating very broad rights of access to the special fund (comprised of public monies) as compared to the rather narrow right of access to the general fund (non-governmental funding). The only major difference between the corresponding subdivisions is that the general fund records are not accessible to the public.

The Commissioner agrees with the conclusion reached by Mr. Everett and Ms. Thorson. This position is buttressed by a 1996 District Court case, Bloomington Fire Department Relief Association v. The Gray Eagles Association, A.J. DeAntoni and Charles Wolter, in which the judge found that pursuant to Minnesota Statutes 424A.06, subdivision 2, data pertaining to a general fund of the Bloomington Fire Relief Association are not available to the public. The court wrote:

[t]he most logical interpretation of the two provisions of Chapter 424A, when read together, is that public access is available for special fund data but not general fund data. This is the interpretation that best harmonizes and gives effect to both section 424A.05 and section 424A.06....the common sense interpretation of section 424A in the context of [Chapter 13] is that which is not public (the general fund data) is nonpublic, protected nonpublic, private, or confidential. Thus, section 424A establishes an exception to the general access provided by [Chapter 13]. This statutory exception allows for public access to special fund records but not general fund records.

Opinion:

Based on the facts and information provided, my opinion on the issue raised by Mr. Everett and Ms. Thorson is as follows:

Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Section 424A.06, subdivision 2, financial records of the general fund of the City of Lafayette Fire Department Relief Association are not public data.

Signed:

Elaine S. Hansen
Commissioner

Dated: September 3, 1997

Government Data

Fire relief associations - subject to Chapter 13