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 - 5 of 5
Advisory Opinion 19-005
April 4, 2019; Minnesota Department of Public Safety
This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 13.072 (2018). It is based on the facts and information ...
Description: A law enforcement agency asked about the classification of data in an inactive criminal investigation of an officer-involved fatal shooting. The Commissioner opined that the data were variously classified under Minnesota Statutes, sections 260B.171 (peace officer records of children), 13.10 (private data on decedents), 13.82 (law enforcement data), and 13.825 (body camera data). The Commissioner also opined that absent clarification from the Legislature, law enforcement agencies have discretion to interpret the scope of the plain meaning of “data that document the discharge of a firearm” that are public under section 13.825.
Category: Law enforcement data, Peace officer records of children
Keywords: Law enforcement data, Peace officer records of children, Decedents, Decedents (13.10), Juveniles, Juveniles (260.161 / 260B.171), Law enforcement data, Law enforcement (13.82), Body camera data 13.825, Portable recording system data
Commissioner: Alice Roberts-Davis
Advisory Opinion 14-016
October 23, 2014; Winona County
This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 13.072 (2014). It is based on the facts and information ...
Description: An entity asked whether it could
release private data about a decedent to the
decedent’s sister, who was not the personal
representative within the meaning of section 13.10,
subdivision 1(c). However, she is a trustee for
purposes of a wrongful death action under section
573.02, subdivision 3. The county may release
“appropriate” data (however classified) without a
court order to the decedent’s sister, as a trustee in
a wrongful death action as provided in section
13.10, subdivision 3.
Category: General
Keywords: General, Decedents (13.10)
Commissioner: Matthew Massman Acting
Advisory Opinion 98-031
June 11, 1998; Minnesota Office of the Ombudsman for Mental Health and Mental Retardation
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, has the Office of the Ombudsman for Mental Health and Mental Retardation responded properly to a January 16, 1998 (later clarified in a letter dated March 31, 1998), request for access to the following data collected/created/received from January 1, 1994, to present:
a version of the Death Review Index that includes the names of the dead persons; and
copies of reports and other documents concerning death cases (those under full or limited review) that were created or compiled by the Ombudsman's office after the death of the subject?
Category: Response to data requests, Welfare data
Keywords: Response to data requests, Welfare data, Decedents (13.10), Decedents, Ombudsman for Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities (245.91 - 245.97), No change in classification (13.03, subd. 4(c))
Commissioner: Elaine S. Hansen
Advisory Opinion 97-044
October 23, 1997; Mower County
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 Section 13.04, subdivision 3, has Mower County responded properly to a July 23, 1997, request for access to data about the deceased data subject?
Category: Welfare data, Response to data requests
Keywords: Welfare data, Response to data requests, Decedents (13.10)
Commissioner: Elaine S. Hansen
Advisory Opinion 94-048
November 3, 1994; Martin County
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: If an inactive criminal investigative file contains both public and private data, is a government entity required by Chapter 13 to separate the two types of data and make the public data available to the public?
How are data on a deceased victim of alleged criminal sexual conduct classified in an inactive criminal investigative file?
In an instance where an individual is investigated for alleged maltreatment of a child, does the fact that the individual was or was not a person responsible for the child's care, affect the classification of data in an inactive criminal investigative file?
Category: Educational data, Law enforcement data
Keywords: Educational data, Law enforcement data, Law enforcement data connection, Decedents (13.10), Deceased victim
Commissioner: Debra Rae Anderson