January 25, 1996; Minnesota Joint Underwriting Association
1/25/1996 10:15:43 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.
Note: In 2015, the Minnesota Supreme Court held in Minnesota Joint Underwriting Association v. Star Tribune that MJUA is not a government entity, which supersedes the conclusion of this opinion. Facts and Procedural History:For purposes of simplification, the information presented by the government entity which requested this opinion is 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 December 8, 1995, PIPA received a letter dated December 5, 1995, from Douglas Franzen, an attorney representing the Minnesota Joint Underwriting Association, hereinafter JUA. In his letter, Mr Franzen requested that the Commissioner issue an advisory opinion regarding the classification of certain data maintained by the JUA. (Mr. Franzen's request was not processed until January 5, 1996, because that is the date PIPA received the fee required, pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Section 13.072, for requests by government entities.) A summary of the facts surrounding this matter is as follows. In his letter, Mr. Franzen stated that the JUA is organized under Minnesota Statutes Chapter 62I. He also explained that the JUA's statutory purpose is to provide certain types of insurance coverage, e.g., Dram Shop liquor liability insurance, to persons or entities not otherwise able to obtain such insurance. Mr. Franzen asked the Commissioner whether Chapter 13, or any other data practices laws, preclude or restrict in any way, the [data requestor's] right to obtain [a listing of the names and addresses of persons or entities who currently are insured by the JUA for Dram Shop liquor liability] from the JUA or the JUA's right or obligation to provide such information.
Issue:
In his request for an opinion, Mr. Franzen asked the Commissioner to address the following issue:
Discussion:
To address Mr. Franzen's question, it is first necessary to determine whether the JUA is subject to Chapter 13. Section 13.01, subdivision 1, states that all state agencies, political subdivisions, and statewide systems shall be governed by Chapter 13. Section 13.02, subdivision 17, defines state agency as the state, the University of Minnesota, and any office, officer, department, division, bureau, board, commission, authority, district, or agency of the state. Given the JUA is an association created by Minnesota statute, it is the Commissioner's position that the JUA is a state agency, for purposes of Chapter 13, and is, therefore, subject to the requirements of Chapter 13.
All data subject to Chapter 13 are presumed to be public unless those data are otherwise classified in statute, in federal law, or by a temporary classification. (See Section 13.03, subdivision 3.) Therefore, it is next necessary to determine whether the data in question are classified in statute, in federal law, or by temporary classification as anything other than public. First, Chapter 13 itself does not contain any provisions that appear to classify data about JUA Dram Shop liquor liability insureds as anything other than public data. Second, upon review of Minnesota Statutes Section 62I, it does not appear that any of its provisions classify data relating to Dram Shop liquor liability insureds as anything other than public. Third, the Commissioner is not aware of any other Minnesota statute or any federal law which would classify the data in question. Fourth, there are no temporary classifications relating to the data in question. Therefore, because the data relating to Dram Shop liquor liability insureds do not appear to be classified as anything other than public, those data are public by operation of Minnesota Statutes Section 13.03, subdivision 1. Opinion:Based on the correspondence in this matter, my opinion on the issue raised by Mr. Franzen is as follows:
Signed:
Elaine S. Hansen
Dated: January 25, 1996
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Government Data
Minnesota Joint Underwriting Association (MJUA) (Superseded by MJUA v. Star Tribune, A13-2112, April 8, 2013 (Minn.))
