October 31, 2007; Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
10/31/2007 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.
Note: Minnesota Statutes, section 13.601, was further amended in 2008, after this opinion was issued. In the event that there is a conflict between the conclusion in the opinion and the statute, the later enacted statutory language governs. Facts and Procedural History:
On September 20, 2007, IPAD received a letter, dated September 18, 2007, from Sheila Kihne. In her letter, Ms. Kihne asked the Commissioner to issue an advisory opinion regarding her right to gain access to certain data from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA.) In response to Ms. Kihne's request, IPAD, on behalf of the Commissioner, wrote to Brad Moore, Commissioner of MPCA. The purposes of this letter, dated September 24, 2007, were to inform him of Ms. Kihne's request and to ask him to provide information or support for MPCA's position. On October 1, 2007, IPAD received a response, dated same, from Ann E. Cohen, Assistant Attorney General, on behalf of MPCA. Ms. Cohen submitted additional comments in a letter dated October 12, 2007. A summary of the facts as Ms. Kihne presented them follows. Ms. Kihne wrote that she first requested access to the home addresses for the individual members of the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group (MCCAG) in late June 2007, in a telephone conversation with an MPCA staff member. Initially she was told she could have the data; the following day she was told she could not. Ms. Kihne stated that she then requested access to the home addresses of MCCAG members via e-mail and fax on July 12, 2007. David J. Thornton, Assistant Commissioner of MPCA replied in an e-mail on July 19, 2007, that the home addresses were private. Ms. Kihne then sent a July 30, 2007, e-mail to Commissioner Moore, and repeated her request. In her e-mail, Ms. Kihne wrote: [i]f the PCA is going to deny access to this information then I'd like to request for [sic] a citation of statute that supports that decision. In an e-mail dated July 31, 2007, Mr. Thornton replied, I regret that I did not include the statutory citation that we consulted prior to my response to your initial request. I have included it below. Mr. Thornton included citations to sections 13.601, elected and appointed officials, and 13.43, personnel data. He stated [a]gain, our interpretation of the statute is that their home address is private information. In her comments to the Commissioner, Ms. Cohen referred to MCCAG as an appointed advisory body. She stated that under section 13.43, the definition of personnel data includes data on individuals who perform services on a voluntary basis for a government entity, and that home addresses of volunteers are not public under that section. Ms. Cohen stated that MPCA's position is consistent with Advisory Opinion 00-049, in which the Commissioner opined that the home address of a member of a school board was private. She wrote: . . . such members were 'employees' of the School District and . . . data about such persons was 'personnel data.' Issue:
Based on Ms. Kihne's opinion request, the Commissioner agreed to address the following issue:
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Elected and appointed officials
Applicants for appointment to a public body and public body appointees
Elected and appointed officials (13.601)