The Minnesota Legislature convened on January 8, 2013. The following bills were introduced on January 10th. Each has some bearing on Data Practices and Open Meeting issues:
HF No. 5, Establishing a Minnesota insurance exchange
HF No. 5 creates a board to direct the function of the insurance exchange. The bill contains provisions which would exempt certain board discussions (contract negotiations, personnel matters, trade secret information) from the Open Meeting law.
SF No. 1, Senate companion to HF No. 5, with similar provisions
HF No. 20, Classifying e-mail and telephone data
HF No. 20 would classify e-mail and telephone information provided to government entities for notification purposes (snow plowing, etc) as “private data on individuals.” This data is currently public data.
HF No. 42, Subjecting certain DNR/tribal meetings to the Open Meeting law
HF No. 42 would subject meetings involving the Department of Natural Resources, Ojibwe bands, and the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission to the Open Meeing Law.