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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 - 10 of 14
This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 13.072 (2011). It is based on the facts and information ...
Description: Did the City of Minneapolis comply with Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, in its response to a November 15, 2011, request for access to the following data: dates of applications and dates of testing for all applicants for a certain City position?
Category: Personnel data, Redaction, Summary data
Keywords: Personnel data, Redaction, Summary data, Data not on individuals, Undercover law enforcement officer, Redaction (See also: Multiple data subjects; Separation of data), Public and not public data
Commissioner: Spencer Cronk
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: Did the Minnesota Management & Budget comply with Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, in responding to a request for the race, gender, and disability status of state employees by agency?
Category: Summary data
Keywords: Summary data, Summary data (See also: Educational data - Summary data)
Commissioner: Dana B. Badgerow
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: Is the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry in compliance with Minnesota Statutes, Chapters 13, 175 and 176, if it releases certain data in its WC-Informix database in response to a request for summary data?
Category: Summary data
Keywords: Summary data, Labor and Industry Department, Summary data (See also: Educational data - Summary data)
Commissioner: Dana B. Badgerow
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: Did Independent School District 531, Byron, comply with Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, in denying access to the following data relating to a hazing incident: the particular athletic team involved, the nature of the alleged hazing, the number of students disciplined, and the disciplinary action taken?
Category: Educational data, Summary data
Keywords: Educational data, Summary data, Combining data elements may uniquely identify an individual
Commissioner: Dana B. Badgerow
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, did School District 834, Stillwater, respond appropriately to a request for the following data regarding school expulsions: age, grade level, sex, home town, race, and the act that led to the expulsion?
Category: Educational data, Summary data
Keywords: Educational data, Summary data, Expulsion, Summary data, Combining data elements may uniquely identify an individual
Commissioner: David F. Fisher
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, did the Minnesota Department of Children, Families and Learning respond appropriately to two requests for access to scholarship application scoring data, dated May 30, 2000, and June 5, 2000, by redacting the names of the reviewers from the score sheets? Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, did the Minnesota Department of Children, Families and Learning respond appropriately to an August 21, 2000, request for access to "cutoff scores specific to geographical regions into which Byrd program awards are divided?" Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, did the Minnesota Department of Children, Families and Learning respond appropriately to an August 21, 2000, request for access to review scoring sheets of scholarship applicants, paired by individual applicant?
Category: Educational data, Multiple data subjects, Personnel data, Redaction
Keywords: Educational data, Multiple data subjects, Personnel data, Redaction, Personnel data included (See also: Personnel data - educational data), Summary data, Multiple data subjects, Multiple data subjects, Redaction (See also: Multiple data subjects; Separation of data)
Commissioner: David F. Fisher
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, did School District 625 (St. Paul) respond appropriately to a January 28, 2000 request for summary data?
Category: Copy costs, Existence of data, Response to data requests, Summary data
Keywords: Copy costs, Existence of data, Response to data requests, Summary data, Work assignment reasonably requires access, Requestor must be informed, Appropriate response generally, Summary data (See also: Educational data - Summary data)
Commissioner: David F. Fisher
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, did Independent School District 11, Anoka-Hennepin, respond appropriately to an August 21, 2000, request to inspect public government data?
Category: Personnel data, Response to data requests
Keywords: Personnel data, Response to data requests, Inextricably intertwined data (See also: Northwest Publications, Inc. v. City of Bloomington, 499 N.W.2d 509), Summary data, Public and not public data
Commissioner: David F. Fisher
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: Does the position taken by School District 31, Bemidji, as described in the memorandum regarding "Sharing Information with the Media about Student Expulsions" affect the public's right to gain access to government data, as provided in Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13?
Category: Educational data, Summary data
Keywords: Educational data, Summary data, Expulsion, Combining data elements may uniquely identify an individual
Commissioner: David F. Fisher
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, did the South Lake Minnetonka Public Safety Department respond properly to a request to inspect the public data contained in the Department's so-called log sheets?
Category: Law enforcement data, Legislative authority and intent, Statutory construction (Ch. 645), Summary data
Keywords: Law enforcement data, Legislative authority and intent, Statutory construction (Ch. 645), Summary data, Dispatch logs, Physical data access (13.82, subd. 16 / subd. 9), Separation of public, not public data, Public and not public data, Later enacted statute, Summary data (See also: Educational data - Summary data)
Commissioner: David F. Fisher
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