HF 2779

as introduced - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to data practices; changing provisions for 
  1.3             data privacy; amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, 
  1.4             sections 13.43, subdivision 2, by adding a 
  1.5             subdivision; 13.46, subdivision 1; 13.461, by adding a 
  1.6             subdivision; 119B.02, subdivision 6; Minnesota 
  1.7             Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 13.46, subdivision 
  1.8             2; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 13.319, 
  1.9             subdivision 7. 
  1.10  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.11     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 13.43, 
  1.12  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.13     Subd. 2.  [PUBLIC DATA.] (a) Except for employees described 
  1.14  in subdivision subdivisions 5 and 5a, the following personnel 
  1.15  data on current and former employees, volunteers, and 
  1.16  independent contractors of a state agency, statewide system, or 
  1.17  political subdivision and members of advisory boards or 
  1.18  commissions is public: 
  1.19     (1) name; employee identification number, which must not be 
  1.20  the employee's Social Security number; actual gross salary; 
  1.21  salary range; contract fees; actual gross pension; the value and 
  1.22  nature of employer paid fringe benefits; and the basis for and 
  1.23  the amount of any added remuneration, including expense 
  1.24  reimbursement, in addition to salary; 
  1.25     (2) job title and bargaining unit; job description; 
  1.26  education and training background; and previous work experience; 
  1.27     (3) date of first and last employment; 
  2.1      (4) the existence and status of any complaints or charges 
  2.2   against the employee, regardless of whether the complaint or 
  2.3   charge resulted in a disciplinary action; 
  2.4      (5) the final disposition of any disciplinary action 
  2.5   together with the specific reasons for the action and data 
  2.6   documenting the basis of the action, excluding data that would 
  2.7   identify confidential sources who are employees of the public 
  2.8   body; 
  2.9      (6) the terms of any agreement settling any dispute arising 
  2.10  out of an employment relationship, including a buyout agreement 
  2.11  as defined in section 123B.143, subdivision 2, paragraph (a); 
  2.12  except that the agreement must include specific reasons for the 
  2.13  agreement if it involves the payment of more than $10,000 of 
  2.14  public money; 
  2.15     (7) work location; a work telephone number; badge number; 
  2.16  and honors and awards received; and 
  2.17     (8) payroll time sheets or other comparable data that are 
  2.18  only used to account for employee's work time for payroll 
  2.19  purposes, except to the extent that release of time sheet data 
  2.20  would reveal the employee's reasons for the use of sick or other 
  2.21  medical leave or other not public data; and city and county of 
  2.22  residence. 
  2.23     (b) For purposes of this subdivision, a final disposition 
  2.24  occurs when the state agency, statewide system, or political 
  2.25  subdivision makes its final decision about the disciplinary 
  2.26  action, regardless of the possibility of any later proceedings 
  2.27  or court proceedings.  In the case of arbitration proceedings 
  2.28  arising under collective bargaining agreements, a final 
  2.29  disposition occurs at the conclusion of the arbitration 
  2.30  proceedings, or upon the failure of the employee to elect 
  2.31  arbitration within the time provided by the collective 
  2.32  bargaining agreement.  Final disposition includes a resignation 
  2.33  by an individual when the resignation occurs after the final 
  2.34  decision of the state agency, statewide system, political 
  2.35  subdivision, or arbitrator. 
  2.36     (c) The state agency, statewide system, or political 
  3.1   subdivision may display a photograph of a current or former 
  3.2   employee to a prospective witness as part of the state agency's, 
  3.3   statewide system's, or political subdivision's investigation of 
  3.4   any complaint or charge against the employee. 
  3.5      (d) A complainant has access to a statement provided by the 
  3.6   complainant to a state agency, statewide system, or political 
  3.7   subdivision in connection with a complaint or charge against an 
  3.8   employee. 
  3.9      (e) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), clause (5), upon 
  3.10  completion of an investigation of a complaint or charge against 
  3.11  a public official, or if a public official resigns or is 
  3.12  terminated from employment while the complaint or charge is 
  3.13  pending, all data relating to the complaint or charge are 
  3.14  public, unless access to the data would jeopardize an active 
  3.15  investigation or reveal confidential sources.  For purposes of 
  3.16  this paragraph, "public official" means: 
  3.17     (1) the head of a state agency and deputy and assistant 
  3.18  state agency heads; 
  3.19     (2) members of boards or commissions required by law to be 
  3.20  appointed by the governor or other elective officers; and 
  3.21     (3) executive or administrative heads of departments, 
  3.22  bureaus, divisions, or institutions. 
  3.23     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 13.43, is amended 
  3.24  by adding a subdivision to read: 
  3.25     Subd. 5a.  [EMPLOYEE DATA.] (a) Notwithstanding any other 
  3.26  provision of this section, the following data relating to 
  3.27  employees of a secure treatment facility defined in section 
  3.28  253B.02, subdivision 18a, employees of a state correctional 
  3.29  facility, or employees of the Department of Corrections directly 
  3.30  involved in supervision of offenders in the community, shall be 
  3.31  private or nonpublic data:  city and county of residence; place 
  3.32  where previous education or training occurred; place of prior 
  3.33  employment; payroll timesheets or other comparable data, to the 
  3.34  extent that such data may disclose future work assignments; or 
  3.35  any other public data that could reasonably be used to identify 
  3.36  the residence of the employee or members of the employee's 
  4.1   immediate family, or subject the employee or members of the 
  4.2   employee's immediate family to danger of physical harm or 
  4.3   harassment. 
  4.4      (b) Data classified as private under this subdivision must 
  4.5   be disclosed upon the order or direction of any appropriate 
  4.6   judicial or administrative tribunal where there is a reasonable 
  4.7   showing that disclosure of the data is necessary for a member of 
  4.8   the public to pursue an action against a secure treatment 
  4.9   facility defined in section 253B.02, subdivision 18a, state 
  4.10  correctional facility or employee of the Department of 
  4.11  Corrections, and that this necessity outweighs the potential for 
  4.12  physical harm or harassment. 
  4.13     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 13.46, 
  4.14  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  4.15     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] As used in this section: 
  4.16     (a) "Individual" means an individual according to section 
  4.17  13.02, subdivision 8, but does not include a vendor of services. 
  4.18     (b) "Program" includes all programs for which authority is 
  4.19  vested in a component of the welfare system according to statute 
  4.20  or federal law, including, but not limited to, the aid to 
  4.21  families with dependent children program formerly codified in 
  4.22  sections 256.72 to 256.87, Minnesota family investment program, 
  4.23  temporary assistance for needy families program, medical 
  4.24  assistance, general assistance, general assistance medical care, 
  4.25  child care assistance program, and child support collections.  
  4.26     (c) "Welfare system" includes the Department of Human 
  4.27  Services, local social services agencies, county welfare 
  4.28  agencies, private licensing agencies, the public authority 
  4.29  responsible for child support enforcement, human services 
  4.30  boards, community mental health center boards, state hospitals, 
  4.31  state nursing homes, the ombudsman for mental health and mental 
  4.32  retardation, and persons, agencies, institutions, organizations, 
  4.33  and other entities under contract to any of the above agencies 
  4.34  to the extent specified in the contract. 
  4.35     (d) "Mental health data" means data on individual clients 
  4.36  and patients of community mental health centers, established 
  5.1   under section 245.62, mental health divisions of counties and 
  5.2   other providers under contract to deliver mental health 
  5.3   services, or the ombudsman for mental health and mental 
  5.4   retardation. 
  5.5      (e) "Fugitive felon" means a person who has been convicted 
  5.6   of a felony and who has escaped from confinement or violated the 
  5.7   terms of probation or parole for that offense. 
  5.8      (f) "Private licensing agency" means an agency licensed by 
  5.9   the commissioner of human services under chapter 245A to perform 
  5.10  the duties under section 245A.16. 
  5.11     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 13.46, 
  5.12  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  5.13     Subd. 2.  [GENERAL.] (a) Unless the data is summary data or 
  5.14  a statute specifically provides a different classification, data 
  5.15  on individuals collected, maintained, used, or disseminated by 
  5.16  the welfare system is private data on individuals, and shall not 
  5.17  be disclosed except:  
  5.18     (1) according to section 13.05; 
  5.19     (2) according to court order; 
  5.20     (3) according to a statute specifically authorizing access 
  5.21  to the private data; 
  5.22     (4) to an agent of the welfare system, including a law 
  5.23  enforcement person, attorney, or investigator acting for it in 
  5.24  the investigation or prosecution of a criminal or civil 
  5.25  proceeding relating to the administration of a program; 
  5.26     (5) to personnel of the welfare system who require the data 
  5.27  to verify an individual's identity; determine eligibility, 
  5.28  amount of assistance, and the need to provide services of 
  5.29  additional programs to the an individual or family across 
  5.30  programs; evaluate the effectiveness of programs; and 
  5.31  investigate suspected fraud; 
  5.32     (6) to administer federal funds or programs; 
  5.33     (7) between personnel of the welfare system working in the 
  5.34  same program; 
  5.35     (8) the amounts of cash public assistance and relief paid 
  5.36  to welfare recipients in this state, including to the Department 
  6.1   of Revenue to administer and evaluate tax refund or tax credit 
  6.2   programs and to identify individuals who may benefit from these 
  6.3   programs.  The following information may be disclosed under this 
  6.4   paragraph:  an individual's and their dependent's names, dates 
  6.5   of birth, Social Security numbers, income, addresses, and other 
  6.6   data as required, upon request by the Department of Revenue to 
  6.7   administer the property tax refund law, supplemental housing 
  6.8   allowance, early refund of refundable tax credits, and the 
  6.9   income tax.  "Refundable tax credits" means Tax refund or tax 
  6.10  credit programs include, but are not limited to, the dependent 
  6.11  care credit under section 290.067, the Minnesota working family 
  6.12  credit under section 290.0671, the property tax refund and 
  6.13  rental credit under section 290A.04, and, if the required 
  6.14  federal waiver or waivers are granted, the federal earned income 
  6.15  tax credit under section 32 of the Internal Revenue Code the 
  6.16  Minnesota education credit under section 290.0674; 
  6.17     (9) between the Department of Human Services, the 
  6.18  Department of Education, and the Department of Employment and 
  6.19  Economic Security Development for the purpose of monitoring the 
  6.20  eligibility of the data subject for unemployment benefits, for 
  6.21  any employment or training program administered, supervised, or 
  6.22  certified by that agency, for the purpose of administering any 
  6.23  rehabilitation program or child care assistance program, whether 
  6.24  alone or in conjunction with the welfare system, or to monitor 
  6.25  and evaluate the Minnesota family investment program by 
  6.26  exchanging data on recipients and former recipients of food 
  6.27  support, cash assistance under chapter 256, 256D, 256J, or 256K, 
  6.28  child care assistance under chapter 119B, or medical programs 
  6.29  under chapter 256B, 256D, or 256L; 
  6.30     (10) to appropriate parties in connection with an emergency 
  6.31  if knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the 
  6.32  health or safety of the individual or other individuals or 
  6.33  persons; 
  6.34     (11) data maintained by residential programs as defined in 
  6.35  section 245A.02 may be disclosed to the protection and advocacy 
  6.36  system established in this state according to Part C of Public 
  7.1   Law 98-527 to protect the legal and human rights of persons with 
  7.2   mental retardation or other related conditions who live in 
  7.3   residential facilities for these persons if the protection and 
  7.4   advocacy system receives a complaint by or on behalf of that 
  7.5   person and the person does not have a legal guardian or the 
  7.6   state or a designee of the state is the legal guardian of the 
  7.7   person; 
  7.8      (12) to the county medical examiner or the county coroner 
  7.9   for identifying or locating relatives or friends of a deceased 
  7.10  person; 
  7.11     (13) data on a child support obligor who makes payments to 
  7.12  the public agency may be disclosed to the Higher Education 
  7.13  Services Office to the extent necessary to determine eligibility 
  7.14  under section 136A.121, subdivision 2, clause (5); 
  7.15     (14) participant Social Security numbers and names 
  7.16  collected by the telephone assistance program may be disclosed 
  7.17  to the Department of Revenue to conduct an electronic data match 
  7.18  with the property tax refund database to determine eligibility 
  7.19  under section 237.70, subdivision 4a; 
  7.20     (15) the current address of a Minnesota family investment 
  7.21  program participant may be disclosed to law enforcement officers 
  7.22  who provide the name of the participant and notify the agency 
  7.23  that: 
  7.24     (i) the participant: 
  7.25     (A) is a fugitive felon fleeing to avoid prosecution, or 
  7.26  custody or confinement after conviction, for a crime or attempt 
  7.27  to commit a crime that is a felony under the laws of the 
  7.28  jurisdiction from which the individual is fleeing; or 
  7.29     (B) is violating a condition of probation or parole imposed 
  7.30  under state or federal law; 
  7.31     (ii) the location or apprehension of the felon is within 
  7.32  the law enforcement officer's official duties; and 
  7.33     (iii) the request is made in writing and in the proper 
  7.34  exercise of those duties; 
  7.35     (16) the current address of a recipient of general 
  7.36  assistance or general assistance medical care may be disclosed 
  8.1   to probation officers and corrections agents who are supervising 
  8.2   the recipient and to law enforcement officers who are 
  8.3   investigating the recipient in connection with a felony level 
  8.4   offense; 
  8.5      (17) information obtained from food support applicant or 
  8.6   recipient households may be disclosed to local, state, or 
  8.7   federal law enforcement officials, upon their written request, 
  8.8   for the purpose of investigating an alleged violation of the 
  8.9   Food Stamp Act, according to Code of Federal Regulations, title 
  8.10  7, section 272.1(c); 
  8.11     (18) the address, Social Security number, and, if 
  8.12  available, photograph of any member of a household receiving 
  8.13  food support shall be made available, on request, to a local, 
  8.14  state, or federal law enforcement officer if the officer 
  8.15  furnishes the agency with the name of the member and notifies 
  8.16  the agency that:  
  8.17     (i) the member: 
  8.18     (A) is fleeing to avoid prosecution, or custody or 
  8.19  confinement after conviction, for a crime or attempt to commit a 
  8.20  crime that is a felony in the jurisdiction the member is 
  8.21  fleeing; 
  8.22     (B) is violating a condition of probation or parole imposed 
  8.23  under state or federal law; or 
  8.24     (C) has information that is necessary for the officer to 
  8.25  conduct an official duty related to conduct described in subitem 
  8.26  (A) or (B); 
  8.27     (ii) locating or apprehending the member is within the 
  8.28  officer's official duties; and 
  8.29     (iii) the request is made in writing and in the proper 
  8.30  exercise of the officer's official duty; 
  8.31     (19) the current address of a recipient of Minnesota family 
  8.32  investment program, general assistance, general assistance 
  8.33  medical care, or food support may be disclosed to law 
  8.34  enforcement officers who, in writing, provide the name of the 
  8.35  recipient and notify the agency that the recipient is a person 
  8.36  required to register under section 243.166, but is not residing 
  9.1   at the address at which the recipient is registered under 
  9.2   section 243.166; 
  9.3      (20) certain information regarding child support obligors 
  9.4   who are in arrears may be made public according to section 
  9.5   518.575; 
  9.6      (21) data on child support payments made by a child support 
  9.7   obligor and data on the distribution of those payments excluding 
  9.8   identifying information on obligees may be disclosed to all 
  9.9   obligees to whom the obligor owes support, and data on the 
  9.10  enforcement actions undertaken by the public authority, the 
  9.11  status of those actions, and data on the income of the obligor 
  9.12  or obligee may be disclosed to the other party; 
  9.13     (22) data in the work reporting system may be disclosed 
  9.14  under section 256.998, subdivision 7; 
  9.15     (23) to the Department of Education for the purpose of 
  9.16  matching Department of Education student data with public 
  9.17  assistance data to determine students eligible for free and 
  9.18  reduced price meals, meal supplements, and free milk according 
  9.19  to United States Code, title 42, sections 1758, 1761, 1766, 
  9.20  1766a, 1772, and 1773; to allocate federal and state funds that 
  9.21  are distributed based on income of the student's family; and to 
  9.22  verify receipt of energy assistance for the telephone assistance 
  9.23  plan; 
  9.24     (24) the current address and telephone number of program 
  9.25  recipients and emergency contacts may be released to the 
  9.26  commissioner of health or a local board of health as defined in 
  9.27  section 145A.02, subdivision 2, when the commissioner or local 
  9.28  board of health has reason to believe that a program recipient 
  9.29  is a disease case, carrier, suspect case, or at risk of illness, 
  9.30  and the data are necessary to locate the person; 
  9.31     (25) to other state agencies, statewide systems, and 
  9.32  political subdivisions of this state, including the attorney 
  9.33  general, and agencies of other states, interstate information 
  9.34  networks, federal agencies, and other entities as required by 
  9.35  federal regulation or law for the administration of the child 
  9.36  support enforcement program; 
 10.1      (26) to personnel of public assistance programs as defined 
 10.2   in section 256.741, for access to the child support system 
 10.3   database for the purpose of administration, including monitoring 
 10.4   and evaluation of those public assistance programs; 
 10.5      (27) to monitor and evaluate the Minnesota family 
 10.6   investment program by exchanging data between the Departments of 
 10.7   Human Services and Education, on recipients and former 
 10.8   recipients of food support, cash assistance under chapter 256, 
 10.9   256D, 256J, or 256K, child care assistance under chapter 119B, 
 10.10  or medical programs under chapter 256B, 256D, or 256L; 
 10.11     (28) to evaluate child support program performance and to 
 10.12  identify and prevent fraud in the child support program by 
 10.13  exchanging data between the Department of Human Services, 
 10.14  Department of Revenue under section 270B.14, subdivision 1, 
 10.15  paragraphs (a) and (b), without regard to the limitation of use 
 10.16  in paragraph (c), Department of Health, Department of Economic 
 10.17  Security, and other state agencies as is reasonably necessary to 
 10.18  perform these functions; or 
 10.19     (29) counties operating child care assistance programs 
 10.20  under chapter 119B may disseminate data on program participants, 
 10.21  applicants, and providers to the commissioner of education. 
 10.22     (b) Information on persons who have been treated for drug 
 10.23  or alcohol abuse may only be disclosed according to the 
 10.24  requirements of Code of Federal Regulations, title 42, sections 
 10.25  2.1 to 2.67. 
 10.26     (c) Data provided to law enforcement agencies under 
 10.27  paragraph (a), clause (15), (16), (17), or (18), or paragraph 
 10.28  (b), are investigative data and are confidential or protected 
 10.29  nonpublic while the investigation is active.  The data are 
 10.30  private after the investigation becomes inactive under section 
 10.31  13.82, subdivision 5, paragraph (a) or (b). 
 10.32     (d) Mental health data shall be treated as provided in 
 10.33  subdivisions 7, 8, and 9, but is not subject to the access 
 10.34  provisions of subdivision 10, paragraph (b). 
 10.35     For the purposes of this subdivision, a request will be 
 10.36  deemed to be made in writing if made through a computer 
 11.1   interface system. 
 11.2      Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 13.461, is 
 11.3   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
 11.4      Subd. 28.  [CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.] Data collected, 
 11.5   maintained, used, or disseminated by the welfare system 
 11.6   pertaining to persons selected as legal nonlicensed child care 
 11.7   providers by families receiving child care assistance are 
 11.8   classified under section 119B.02, subdivision 6. 
 11.9      Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 119B.02, 
 11.10  subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
 11.11     Subd. 6.  [DATA.] Data on individuals collected by the 
 11.12  commissioner for purposes of administering this chapter are 
 11.13  private data on individuals as defined in section 13.02.  Data 
 11.14  collected, maintained, used, or disseminated by the welfare 
 11.15  system pertaining to persons selected as legal nonlicensed child 
 11.16  care providers by families receiving child care assistance shall 
 11.17  be treated as licensing data as provided in section 13.46, 
 11.18  subdivision 4. 
 11.19     Sec. 7.  [REPEALER.] 
 11.20     Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 13.319, subdivision 7, is 
 11.21  repealed.