Facts and Procedural History:

On March 16, 2012, the Information Policy Analysis Division (IPAD) received a letter dated March 12, 2012, from Steven Qualley, attorney for the City of Emily. In his letter, Mr. Qualley asked the Commissioner to issue an advisory opinion regarding the classification of certain data the City maintains. IPAD asked for additional information, which Mr. Qualley provided on March 19, 2012. On April 4, 2012, IPAD invited Jan Mosman, data subject, to comment. Ms. Mosman did not submit comments.

A summary of the facts is as follows. In his opinion request, Mr. Qualley wrote the following regarding a data request received by the City:

The requested data relates to data collected by the City of Emily and the residency requirements for a member of the City Council. The data requested is a copy of the council members [sic] driver's license that was provided when the council member filed a request to run for a seat on the City Council, and the other data submitted when that person filed, such as the Affidavit of Candidacy. The City is unable to determine how that data is to be classified, and whether the City must or can disclose the data.

The City provided the Affidavit of Candidacy and the copy of the driver's license to the Commissioner for review.

Issue:

Based on Mr. Qualley's request, the Commissioner agreed to address the following issue:

Discussion:

Minnesota Statutes, section 13.03, subdivision 1, states the general rule that all government data are public unless classified otherwise.

Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 205, governs municipal elections. Minnesota Statutes, section 205.13, subdivision 1, requires candidates for city office to submit an affidavit of candidacy with the municipal clerk. Subdivision 1 also requires that the affidavit be, in substantially the same form as that in [Minnesota Statutes,] section 204B.06, subdivision 1.

The City of Emily uses an Affidavit of Candidacy form found on the Minnesota Secretary of State's website. The form collects name, office sought, address, phone number, campaign address, website, and email address. The form also states, [a]ll information on this form is available to the public. Consistent with the requirements of section 204B.06, subdivision 1b(a), the form also contains a provision allowing a candidate to request that his or her residential address be maintained as private data. Ms. Mosman did not request the private classification for her residential address. Except for the provision in section 204B.06, subdivision 1b(a), nothing in Chapters 204B or 205 (or the Minnesota Election Law, generally) classifies the data in the affidavit as not public. Therefore, under the general presumption in section 13.03, subdivision 1, the data in the Affidavit of Candidacy are public.

The City of Emily also maintains a photocopy of Ms. Mosman's driver's license, collected from her at the time she filed her Affidavit for Candidacy, apparently as proof of her residence within the City. The Commissioner is not aware of any laws classifying driver's license data submitted to a local government entity by a candidate for office as not public. The federal law and corresponding state law that require the Minnesota Department of Public Safety to treat driver's license data as not public are not applicable in this situation. (See 18 U.S.C. 2721 and Minnesota Statutes, section 171.12, subdivision 7.) Unlike a Social Security number, which is classified by state and federal law as private regardless of the manner of collection, a driver's license number is private only when a government entity receives it from the Department of Public Safety. Therefore, the photocopy is also public under the general presumption in section 13.03, subdivision 1. (Not raised here is the issue of whether Ms. Mosman, as a city council member, is an employee of the City and whether the data could be classified under Minnesota Statutes, section 13.43. See Advisory Opinion 03-011.)

The Commissioner would like to remind government entities that they may only collect and store data on individuals that are necessary for the administration and management of programs authorized by law. (See, Minnesota Statutes, section 13.05, subdivision 3.) Here, the City of Emily collected a signed and notarized Affidavit of Candidacy, stating the candidate's address. It seems unlikely, therefore, that the additional step of collecting the driver's license was also necessary.

Opinion:

Based on the facts and information provided, the Commissioner's opinion on the issue Mr. Qualley raised is as follows:

Signed:

Spencer Cronk
Commissioner

Dated: April 20, 2012