This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued under Minnesota Statutes, section 13.072 (2025). It is based on the facts and information available to the Commissioner as described below.

Facts and Procedural History:

Edward Hasbrouck asked the Commissioner for an advisory opinion regarding the Metropolitan Airports Commission Board of Commissioners’ (MAC) conduct under the Open Meeting Law, Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13D (OML). The Commission provided comments in response to Hasbrouck’s request.

Hasbrouck provided the following summary of facts:

Pursuant to the Bylaws of the MAC, Article II, Section 1, “Unless otherwise designated by majority vote of the Commissioners or by action of the Chairperson, regular and special meetings will be held at the Commission's designated meeting room within Terminal 1 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, presently Room LT-3048A or as it may be relocated within Terminal 1.”

This location is accessible only by passing through a checkpoint operated by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

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According to the MAC website, the TSA imposed additional requirements for passage starting February 1, 2026: “Effective Feb. 1, 2026, individuals who do not present an acceptable form of REAL ID at TSA checkpoints may use TSA ConfirmID to attempt to verify their identity [sic] Verification is not guaranteed. …. TSA ConfirmID costs $45, and the MAC will cover this cost.” …

An individual seeking to pass through a TSA checkpoint without REAL-ID compliant ID, or with no ID, may be required by the TSA to:

1. Pay a $45 fee, payable only (a) on the Pay.gov website, (b) by credit or debit card or Paypal account accepted by Pay.gov and its payment processor, and (c) by completing a form with personal information (billing address, etc.).
2. Complete TSA Form 415, “Certification of Identity”. 
3. Answer a series of questions based on the information contained in the record (if any) about the individual maintained by the Accurint commercial data brokerage.

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The MAC website says that “the MAC will cover this cost,” but does not say whether individuals must pay the $45 fee, and then seek reimbursement from the MAC through some unspecified process taking an unspecified amount of time, or if there is some procedure posted at the checkpoint to have the MAC pay the fee.

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While the MAC livestreams most of its meetings, only those who are allowed to attend in person are allowed to make public comments during MAC meetings.

(Footnotes omitted.)

In response to the advisory opinion request, MAC provided the following information:

Beginning February 1, 2026, the Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”) began requiring that persons passing through airport checkpoints have a Real ID-compliant document – usually a state identification or passport – or go through the TSA ConfirmID program. The TSA ConfirmID program is an additional layer of screening whereby additional verification steps are taken for persons not possessing a Real ID-compliant document. The cost assessed by TSA for this additional verification is $45.00. Similar to parking, the MAC pays this fee for those attending the MAC Board’s public meetings.

Prior to the TSA change, members of the public attending the public meeting(s) needed to present any valid photo identification to obtain a concourse pass to proceed through the TSA checkpoint. This process was established many years ago and is used on a daily basis to allow infrequent visitors to MSP Airport that need access beyond the checkpoints to gain access without having a boarding pass.

(Footnote omitted.)

Issue:

Discussion:

The Open Meeting Law requires meetings of public bodies to be open to the public, with limited exceptions. There is no dispute that MAC is subject to the OML.

While the Legislature did not define “open” in the OML, the Minnesota Supreme Court stated that the OML “will be liberally construed in order to protect the public’s right to full access to the decision-making process of public bodies governed by [the law].” St. Cloud Newspapers v. District 742 Community Schools, 332 N.W. 2d 1, 6 (Minn. 1983).

In Prior Lake American v. Mader, 642 N.W.2d 729 (Minn. 2002) (Prior Lake), the Court wrote that the OML serves three purposes:

(1) to prohibit actions being taken at a secret meeting where it is impossible for the interested public to become fully informed concerning [public bodies’] decisions or to detect improper influences; (2) to assure the public’s right to be informed; and (3) to afford the public an opportunity to present its views to the [public body]. St. Cloud Newspapers, Inc. v. Dist. 742 Cmty. Schs., 332 N.W.2d 1, 4 (Minn. 1983) (citations omitted). These purposes are deeply rooted in the fundamental proposition that a well-informed populace is essential to the vitality of our democratic form of government. (footnote omitted)

Prior Lake at 735. 

The Commissioner has previously opined that “Chapter 13D is silent on the issue of the location of public meetings. Clearly, though, meetings must be held in a location to which members of the public can easily gain access; if a body were to do otherwise, it would violate the spirit of the Open Meeting Law.” (See Advisory Opinion 08-034.) However, the Commissioner commented that holding a meeting in a public or private location that required going through security and signing in would not necessarily violate the OML.

MAC provided additional context:

[T]he MAC neither requires attendees to pay for TSA ConfirmID, nor does it require attendees to obtain a Real ID-compliant document to attend “open to the public” meetings subject to Minnesota Statutes, section 13D.01. The information received by the Department is inaccurate. The MAC pays the TSA ConfirmID fee for members of the public attending public MAC Board meetings who do not have a Real ID-compliant document.

The MAC is committed to preserving access for the public to attend MAC Board meetings. Recognizing the potentially discouraging effect on public access that the TSA’s change of February 1, 2026, could have precipitated, the MAC committed to paying the TSA ConfirmID fee. As described in the public agenda notice for the MAC Board meetings, members of the public need to stop at the information booth on the ticketing level, present their identification, and receive a concourse pass to proceed through the TSA checkpoint. At the time that the person is receiving a concourse pass, MAC staff ascertain whether the person will need to use TSA ConfirmID. If TSA ConfirmID is needed, MAC staff arrange payment of the fee by the MAC to the TSA.

In the two months since the TSA change, the MAC has paid for three persons to attend an “open to the public” MAC Board meeting.

(Footnote omitted.)

The Commissioner is aware that MAC’s open meeting process has been evolving since the TSA identification policy went into effect in February of this year. (For example, initially, MAC’s policy was to pay for ConfirmID for an attendee three times and now it is unrestricted. It was previously unclear whether an attendee would need to pay and then be reimbursed.) Some changes occurred after conversations between and amongst the opinion requester, MAC, and the Data Practices Office, but before the issuance of this opinion. At the time she accepted the advisory opinion request, the Commissioner’s particular concern was that MAC would require some members of the public to pay to attend an open meeting and the fact that in-person attendance is the only way for the public to provide comment.

Requiring attendees to pay an entrance fee to a public meeting where the cost is more than de minimis would violate the spirit if not the letter of the OML. (De minimis costs to an attendee of an open meeting – bus fare, parking fees – to attend a meeting would not necessarily constitute a violation of the Open Meeting Law.)

Based on MAC’s response to the advisory opinion request, the Commissioner is reassured that the current policy meets the requirements of the law.

Opinion:

Based on the facts and information provided, the Commissioner’s opinion on the issue is as follows:

The Metropolitan Airports Commission Board of Commissioners policy does not require attendees to pay for TSA ConfirmID to attend meetings and therefore, MAC’s policy does not violate the Minnesota Statutes, section 13D.01 requirement to hold open meetings.

Signed:

Tamar Gronvall
Commissioner

May 18, 2026