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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 - 10 of 48
Advisory Opinion 17-004
May 5, 2017, City of Duluth
Note: Minnesota Statutes, section 13.387, is also applicable to the data at issue in this opinion.
This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration ...
Description: a city which operates a self-insured group health plan for its employees asked whether data collected by the third-party administrator were government data, how they would be classified, and whether the administrator was required give a Tennessen notice prior to collecting the data. The Commissioner opined that because the third-party administrator was collecting government data from the employees, the data were classified as private (Minnesota Statutes, section 13.43 subd. 4), and because the administrator is required to comply with the Data Practices Act as if it were a government entity (Minnesota Statutes, section 13.05, subdivision 11), it was required to provide a Tennessen notice prior to collecting the data.
Category: Informed consent
Keywords: Informed consent, Tennessen warning notice, Insurance companies
Commissioner: Matthew Massman
Advisory Opinion 13-014
November 27, 2013; Minnesota Housing Finance Agency
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: A government entity asked whether its method of creating summary data complied with Chapter 13. The data requester argued that the entity’s method did not create a risk of uniquely identifying an individual. In concluding that the entity is in the best position to make these types of determinations, the Commissioner noted that entities must balance their duty to provide access to public data with their responsibility to protect private data.
Category: Tennessen warning
Keywords: Tennessen warning, Benefit data, Entity in best position to determine
Commissioner: Spencer Cronk
Advisory Opinion 13-011
June 14, 2013; Independent School District 743 (Sauk Centre)
This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 13.072 (2012). It is based on the facts and information ...
Description: A school district interviewed a
student about his/her alleged involvement in an
incident off school property. The district gave the
student an oral Tennessen warning, which did not
meet the full statutory notice requirements. The oral
notice was not adequate because the district did not
clearly state the consequences to the student of
providing or not providing the requested data when it
knew of at least one consequence to the student if he/
she provided data that confirmed his/her involvement
in the incident. Also, the district did not identify those
persons outside the district to whom it was authorized
to disseminate the data, regardless of its intention to
do so.
Category: Data subjects, Educational data, Tennessen warning
Keywords: Data subjects, Educational data, Tennessen warning, Tennessen warning notice (13.04, subd. 2)
Commissioner: Spencer Cronk
Advisory Opinion 12-015
October 8, 2012; Concordia Creative Learning Academy (CCLA)
This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 13.072 (2012). It is based on the facts and information ...
Description: A charter school asked whether it
was required to share not public data with the
Minnesota Board of Teaching, following an initial
report to the Board by the school. The Commissioner
determined that pursuant to Minnesota Statutes,
section 122A.20, a school is required to share with the
Board any termination or disciplinary proceeding, any
settlement or compromise, or any investigative file in
the school’s files, regardless of any provision in
Chapter 13.
Category: Data sharing, Personnel data, Licensing data
Keywords: Data sharing, Personnel data, Licensing data, Personnel data, Charter schools, Tennessen warning notice
Commissioner: Spencer Cronk
Advisory Opinion 11-017
November 23, 2011; Dakota County Attorney's Office
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: An employee asked if his rights were
violated when his county employer collected his
fingerprints and other private data, including Social
Security number (SSN), and did not provide a
Tennessen warning notice (see Minnesota Statutes,
section 13.04, subdivision 2) prior to collecting the
data.
The Commissioner discussed the contents of an email
sent to all county staff prior to the data collection
(which the county argued constituted the Tennessen
notice) and found that it met some of the notice
requirements. However, the notice did not adequately
explain the consequences of supplying or not
supplying the fingerprints. In addition, going forward,
the Commissioner discussed that it would be helpful to
clearly label a Tennessen notice as such. Finally, the
Commissioner noted that if an entity is collecting an
individual’s SSN, federal law imposes some additional
notice requirements.
Category: Data subjects
Keywords: Data subjects, Tennessen warning notice (13.04, subd. 2)
Commissioner: Spencer Cronk
Advisory Opinion 11-003
March 10, 2011; School District 309 (Park Rapids)
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, would School District 309, Park Rapids, violate the data practices rights of a former employee if it disseminates certain data about the former employee to the Hubbard County Attorney?
Category: Data subjects, Data subjects, Educational data, Educational data, Personnel data, Tennessen warning, Tennessen warning
Keywords: Data subjects, Data subjects, Educational data, Educational data, Personnel data, Tennessen warning, Tennessen warning, Dissemination to law enforcement agency (13.43, subd. 15), Tennessen warning notice (13.04, subd. 2), Limitation on collection/use of data (13.05, subd. 4)
Commissioner: Spencer Cronk
Advisory Opinion 10-014
May 4, 2010; Ramsey County Sheriff's Office
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 Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office comply with Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, in disclosing certain data to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) given there has been no final disposition of disciplinary charges against the involved employee and DPS was not identified in the Tennessen warning notice given to the employee at the time of the Internal Affairs investigation?
Category: Data subjects, Educational data, Personnel data, Tennessen warning, Tennessen warning
Keywords: Data subjects, Educational data, Personnel data, Tennessen warning, Tennessen warning, Dissemination to law enforcement agency (13.43, subd. 15), Tennessen warning notice (13.04, subd. 2), Limitation on collection/use of data (13.05, subd. 4)
Commissioner: Sheila M. Reger
Advisory Opinion 10-005
March 11, 2010; Ramsey County Sheriff's Office
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 Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office comply with Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, when it contacted gun “Permit to Carry” holders for a certain event?
Category: Data subjects, Educational data, Law enforcement data, Tennessen warning
Keywords: Data subjects, Educational data, Law enforcement data, Tennessen warning, Firearms (13.87, subd. 2 / 13.36), Limitation on collection/use of data (13.05, subd. 4)
Commissioner: Sheila M. Reger
Advisory Opinion 07-009
March 9, 2007; School District 720 (Shakopee)
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 720, Shakopee, comply with Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, if it collected private data about a student from the student without providing the Tennessen warning notice required by section 13.04, subdivision 2?
If Independent School District 720, Shakopee, did not provide a Tennessen warning notice when it collected private data about the student from the student, did it comply with Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, when it used data it collected from the student?
Category: Data subjects, Data subjects, Educational data, Educational data, Tennessen warning, Tennessen warning
Keywords: Data subjects, Data subjects, Educational data, Educational data, Tennessen warning, Tennessen warning, Tennessen warning notice (13.04, subd. 2), Limitation on collection/use of data (13.05, subd. 4)
Commissioner: Dana B. Badgerow
Advisory Opinion 04-048
July 29, 2004; Minnesota Department of Revenue
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 Department of Revenue provide proper notice, pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, and federal law, when it asked an individual to supply his Social Security number in connection with filing his 2003 Minnesota Individual Tax form?
Category: Data subjects, Tennessen warning
Keywords: Data subjects, Tennessen warning, Federal law, Scope of authority, Tennessen warning and federal Privacy Act notices required
Commissioner: Brian J. Lamb
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- All Results
- Data subjects (41)
- Educational data (35)
- Tennessen warning (32)
- Tennessen warning notice (13.04, subd. 2) (12)
- Limitation on collection/use of data (13.05, subd. 4) (10)
- Tennessen warning and federal Privacy Act notices required (9)
- Employment setting (7)
- Personnel data (7)
- Informed consent (6)
- Tennessen warning notice (6)
- Legislative authority and intent (5)
- Limitation on collection and use of private/confidential data (13.05, subd. 4) (4)
- Purpose of notice - informed choice (4)
- Data necessary for administration and management of programs (13.05, subd. 3) (3)
- Law enforcement data (3)
- Necessary to administer a program authorized by law (13.05, subd. 3) (3)
- Requests for data (3)
- Standing requests (3)
- Standing requests for data (3)