Primary navigation

    Search Opinions

    Browse Opinions by Date

    Request an Opinion

    Our Role

    Help with searching

    For a Topic Search use terms suggested on our Topics page. Please note that clicking the "Browse Topics" link on the Search Opinions tab will take you away from the search page to a different page, which will lose any existing search results or data that has been entered into search boxes. If you plan to search by topic, we recommend selecting your topic first, and complete any additional fields in the search form after that.

    For a simple search, type a few words or a phrase in the Full Text search box, then hit Enter or click the Search button. Your search query can be a single word, multiple words separated by spaces, or it can use more advanced syntax described in the FAQ below. Try to use words that are likely to be unique to the content you're looking for.

    Note: For best results when searching for a particular citation, spell out the section and subdivision. For example, “13.43, subdivision 4.”


    About Search Results

    The advisory opinion library currently includes:
    • Data practices advisory opinions issued by the Commissioner of Administration from 1993 to the present.
    • Open Meeting Law advisory opinions issued by the Commissioner of Administration from 2003 to the present.
    The Commissioner's authority is found in Minnesota Statutes, section 13.072. Opinions are nonbinding, but a court may give them deference in a court action. Parties to a court action that act in conformity with an advisory opinion are not liable for certain damages or attorneys fees.
    A written, numbered, and published opinion issued by the attorney general shall take precedence over an advisory opinion issued by the Commissioner of Administration.
    Results 1 - 2 of 2
    Advisory Opinion 14-004
    May 12, 2014; City of Cold Spring
    This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 13.072 (2013). It is based on the facts and information ...
    Description: Did the Cold Spring City Council comply with Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13D, at the February 11, 2014, closed meeting? Did the Cold Spring City Council comply with Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13D, when it closed the February 26, 2014, meeting pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 13D.05, subdivision 2(b)?
    Category: Personnel data, Open Meeting Law, Closed meetings
    Keywords: Personnel data, Open Meeting Law, Closed meetings, Individual subject to authority, Discussion of not public data in an open meeting, Applicant data
    Commissioner: Spencer Cronk
    mn.gov/admin/data-practices/opinions/library/opinions-library.jsp?id=36-267354
    Advisory Opinion 09-012
    May 8, 2009; Minnesota Department of Human Services
    This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to section 13.072 of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13 - the Minnesota Government Data ...
    Description: Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, can the Minnesota Department of Human Services share private or nonpublic grant response data with the Hennepin County Board and staff, and can the Board discuss these data in an open meeting? Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, can the Minnesota Department of Human Services share data it creates or maintains as part of its grant evaluation process (prior to the evaluation being completed) with Hennepin County Board and staff, and can the Board discuss these data in an open meeting?
    Category: Open Meeting Law
    Keywords: Open Meeting Law, Grants (13.599), Discussion of not public data in an open meeting
    Commissioner: Dana B. Badgerow
    mn.gov/admin/data-practices/opinions/library/opinions-library.jsp?id=36-267442
      back to top