August 6, 2004; Red River Watershed Management Board
8/6/2004 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:On June 15, 2004, IPAD received a letter dated June 14, 2004, from Jim Stengrim. In his letter, Mr. Stengrim asked the Commissioner to issue an advisory opinion regarding his access to certain data that the Red River Watershed Management Board (RRWMB) maintains. In response to Mr. Stengrim's request, IPAD, on behalf of the Commissioner, wrote to Naomi Erickson, Administrator of the RRWMB. The purposes of this letter, dated June 23, 2004, were to inform her of Mr. Stengrim's request and to ask her to provide information or support for the RRWMB's position. On July 7, 2004, IPAD received a response, dated same, from Ms. Erickson. A summary of the facts as Mr. Stengrim provided them is as follows. In his opinion request, Mr. Stengrim wrote, On June 1, 2004 I again contacted [the RRWMB] requesting a copy of their adopted policy procedure. Mr. Stengrim provided a copy of the RRWMB's response. Ms. Erickson wrote: The RRWMB is currently is the process of adopting a data policy regarding information requested from the board. At the present time, subject to the advice of legal counsel, all information requested from the RRWMB must be submitted in writing. As per the letter dated May 27, 2004 which was sent to you, please submit a written request, setting forth in detail the documents you are interested in obtaining. In a fax dated June 3, 2004, Mr. Stengrim wrote, I would like to clarify my request for a copy of the data policy procedure for the RRWMB. The material requested is the written form of the 'public access procedures' of the RRWMB. If the requested material is unavailable please provide written confirmation of that fact. In his opinion request, Mr. Stengrim wrote, As of the date of this letter I have not received the requested data. It appears the RRWMB does not presently have a 'public access procedures' policy. Issue:In his request for an opinion, Mr. Stengrim asked the Commissioner to address the following issue:
Discussion:Minnesota Statutes, section 13.03, subdivision 2(b), states: The responsible authority shall prepare public access procedures in written form and update them no later than August 1 of each year as necessary to reflect any changes in personnel or circumstances that might affect public access to government data. The responsible authority shall make copies of the written public access procedures easily available to the public by distributing free copies of the procedures to the public or by posting a copy of the procedures in a conspicuous place within the government entity that is easily accessible to the public. In her comments to the Commissioner, Ms. Erickson wrote: ...please find enclosed a draft of the Data Practices policy that will be considered at our next board meeting on July 20, 2004. The RRWMB believes that the attached policy fulfills the requirements of Minnesota law. When the board has formally adopted this policy, I will provide a copy to the citizen who requested the advisory opinion and, of course, to any citizen who makes a similar request. The language in section 13.03, subdivision 2(b), was adopted during the 1999 Legislative Session and went into effect on January 1, 2001. It states clearly that all government entities must create, and update annually, procedures relating to public access to data. As of the date Mr. Stengrim requested this opinion, it appears the RRWMB had not adopted its public access procedures and, therefore, was not in compliance with Chapter 13. The Commissioner urges the RRWMB to adopt its procedures policy as soon as possible, if it has not done so already. As a final note, the Commissioner encourages the RRWMB to contact IPAD if it has any questions regarding its policy relating to public access procedures. Opinion:Based on the facts and information provided, my opinion on the issue that Mr. Stengrim raised is as follows:
Signed:
Brian J. Lamb
Dated: August 6, 2004 |
Policies and Procedures
Public access procedures
