1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to government data practices; providing for a 
  1.3             uniform treatment of business data submitted to and 
  1.4             collected by government entities; proposing coding for 
  1.5             new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 13; repealing 
  1.6             Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 13.592; 13.5921; 
  1.7             13.5922; 13.593; 13.594; 13.5951; 13.5952; 13.5953; 
  1.8             13.596; 13.5965; 13.643, subdivision 4; 16C.06, 
  1.9             subdivision 3. 
  1.10  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.11     Section 1.  [13.591] [BUSINESS DATA.] 
  1.12     Subdivision 1.  [NOT PUBLIC DATA WHEN BENEFIT 
  1.13  REQUESTED.] The following data, that are submitted to a 
  1.14  government entity by a business requesting financial assistance 
  1.15  or a benefit financed by public funds, are private or nonpublic 
  1.16  data:  the identity of the business and financial information 
  1.17  about the business including, credit reports, financial 
  1.18  statements, net worth calculations, business plans, income and 
  1.19  expense projections, customer lists, income tax returns, and 
  1.20  design, market, and feasibility studies not paid for with public 
  1.21  funds. 
  1.22     Subd. 2.  [PUBLIC DATA WHEN BENEFIT RECEIVED.] Data 
  1.23  submitted to a government entity under subdivision 1 become 
  1.24  public when public financial assistance is provided or the 
  1.25  business receives a benefit from the government entity, except 
  1.26  that the following data remain private or nonpublic:  business 
  1.27  plans, income and expense projections, customer lists, income 
  2.1   tax returns, and design, market, and feasibility studies not 
  2.2   paid for with public funds. 
  2.3      Subd. 3.  [BUSINESS AS VENDOR.] (a) Data submitted by a 
  2.4   business to a government entity in response to a request for 
  2.5   bids as defined in section 16C.02, subdivision 11, are private 
  2.6   or nonpublic until the bids are opened.  Once the bids are 
  2.7   opened, the name of the bidder and the dollar amount specified 
  2.8   in the response are read and become public.  All other data in a 
  2.9   bidder's response to a bid are private or nonpublic data until 
  2.10  completion of the selection process.  For purposes of this 
  2.11  section, "completion of the selection process" means that the 
  2.12  government entity has completed its evaluation and has ranked 
  2.13  the responses.  After a government entity has completed the 
  2.14  selection process, all remaining data submitted by all bidders 
  2.15  are public with the exception of trade secret data as defined 
  2.16  and classified in section 13.37.  A statement by a bidder that 
  2.17  submitted data are copyrighted or otherwise protected does not 
  2.18  prevent public access to the data contained in the bid. 
  2.19     If all responses to a request for bids are rejected prior 
  2.20  to completion of the selection process, all data, other than 
  2.21  that made public at the bid opening, remain private or nonpublic 
  2.22  until a resolicitation of bids results in completion of the 
  2.23  selection process or a determination is made to abandon the 
  2.24  purchase.  If the rejection occurs after the completion of the 
  2.25  selection process, the data remain public. 
  2.26     (b) Data submitted by a business to a government entity in 
  2.27  response to a request for proposals, as defined in section 
  2.28  16C.02, subdivision 12, are private or nonpublic until the 
  2.29  responses are opened.  Once the responses are opened, the name 
  2.30  of the responder is read and becomes public.  All other data in 
  2.31  a responder's response to a request for proposal are private or 
  2.32  nonpublic data until completion of the evaluation process.  For 
  2.33  purposes of this section, "completion of the evaluation process" 
  2.34  means that the government entity has completed negotiating the 
  2.35  contract with the selected vendor.  After a government entity 
  2.36  has completed the evaluation process, all remaining data 
  3.1   submitted by all responders are public with the exception of 
  3.2   trade secret data as defined and classified in section 13.37.  A 
  3.3   statement by a responder that submitted data are copyrighted or 
  3.4   otherwise protected does not prevent public access to the data 
  3.5   contained in the response. 
  3.6      If all responses to a request for proposals are rejected 
  3.7   prior to completion of the evaluation process, all data, other 
  3.8   than that made public at the response opening, remain private or 
  3.9   nonpublic until a resolicitation of the requests for proposal 
  3.10  results in completion of the evaluation process or a 
  3.11  determination is made to abandon the purchase.  If the rejection 
  3.12  occurs after the completion of the evaluation process, the data 
  3.13  remain public. 
  3.14     Subd. 4.  [BUSINESS AS LICENSE APPLICANT.] Data collected, 
  3.15  created, or maintained by a licensing agency about a business 
  3.16  applicant are classified as private or nonpublic data except 
  3.17  that names and addresses of applicants are public.  
  3.18     Subd. 5.  [BUSINESS AS LICENSEE.] Once a business has been 
  3.19  granted a license, all data collected, created, or maintained by 
  3.20  the government entity issuing the license are classified as 
  3.21  public except that the business or personal income tax returns 
  3.22  required as part of the application process remain classified as 
  3.23  private or nonpublic data.  
  3.24     Subd. 6.  [INSPECTION AND REGULATION DATA.] Government data 
  3.25  that are collected, created, or maintained in the course of 
  3.26  regulating businesses, including, but not limited to, data 
  3.27  collected or created in the course of inspecting the premises 
  3.28  and data of a regulated business, are public data with the 
  3.29  exception of trade secret data as provided in section 13.37, and 
  3.30  civil investigative data under section 13.39, but only if the 
  3.31  government entity has actually commenced a civil action against 
  3.32  a regulated business by filing documents in the appropriate 
  3.33  forum.  
  3.34     Subd. 7.  [BUSINESS UNDER INVESTIGATION.] Investigative 
  3.35  data collected or created by a government entity to prepare a 
  3.36  civil case against a business for the violation of law, rule, or 
  4.1   other offense for which the agency has primary investigative 
  4.2   responsibility, are governed by section 13.39.  
  4.3      Subd. 8.  [PUBLIC HEALTH OR SAFETY.] A licensing agency may 
  4.4   make any data classified as private or nonpublic under this 
  4.5   section accessible to an appropriate person or agency if the 
  4.6   licensing agency determines that failure to make the data 
  4.7   accessible presents a clear and present danger to public health 
  4.8   or safety.  
  4.9      Sec. 2.  [REPORT OF DATA LAWS.] 
  4.10     The responsible authority of each state agency shall 
  4.11  prepare a list that identifies all data classification 
  4.12  provisions, relating to business, that are within the 
  4.13  jurisdiction of the agency, or that the agency has been given 
  4.14  the statutory authority to ensure compliance with or enforce.  
  4.15  The agency shall submit this list to the office of the revisor 
  4.16  of statutes no later than September 1, 2001, so that the revisor 
  4.17  can complete the bill as required by section 3.  
  4.18     Sec. 3.  [REVISOR INSTRUCTION.] 
  4.19     The revisor of statutes shall locate all provisions in 
  4.20  Minnesota Statutes that relate to the classification of business 
  4.21  data, including financial, licensing, and regulatory data, and 
  4.22  prepare a bill that either repeals those provisions or makes 
  4.23  them conform with this act.  The revisor shall submit this bill 
  4.24  to the legislature in the 2002 regular session. 
  4.25     Sec. 4.  [REPEALER.] 
  4.26     Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 13.592; 13.5921; 13.5922; 
  4.27  13.593; 13.594; 13.5951; 13.5952; 13.5953; 13.596; 13.5965; 
  4.28  13.643, subdivision 4; and 16C.06, subdivision 3, are repealed.