SF 5136

as introduced - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 03/22/2024 09:07am

A bill for an act
relating to crime; modifying period of time that criminal investigation is active
regarding investigative data; amending Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 13.82,
subdivision 7.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 13.82, subdivision 7, is amended to read:

Subd. 7.

Criminal investigative data.

Except for the data defined in subdivisions 2, 3,
and 6, investigative data collected or created by a law enforcement agency in order to prepare
a case against a person, whether known or unknown, for the commission of a crime or other
offense for which the agency has primary investigative responsibility are confidential or
protected nonpublic while the investigation is active. Inactive investigative data are public
unless the release of the data would jeopardize another ongoing investigation or would
reveal the identity of individuals protected under subdivision 17. Images and recordings,
including photographs, video, and audio records, which are part of inactive investigative
files and which are clearly offensive to common sensibilities are classified as private or
nonpublic data, provided that the existence of the images and recordings shall be disclosed
to any person requesting access to the inactive investigative file. An investigation becomes
inactive upon the occurrence of any of the following events:

(a) a decision by the agency or appropriate prosecutorial authority not to pursue the case;

(b) expiration of the time to bring a charge or file a complaint under the applicable statute
of limitations, or deleted text begin 30 deleted text end new text begin 20 new text end years after the commission of the offense, whichever comes earliest;
or

(c) exhaustion of or expiration of all rights of appeal by a person convicted on the basis
of the investigative data.

Any investigative data presented as evidence in court shall be public. Data determined
to be inactive under clause (a) may become active if the agency or appropriate prosecutorial
authority decides to renew the investigation.

During the time when an investigation is active, any person may bring an action in the
district court located in the county where the data are being maintained to authorize disclosure
of investigative data. The court may order that all or part of the data relating to a particular
investigation be released to the public or to the person bringing the action. In making the
determination as to whether investigative data shall be disclosed, the court shall consider
whether the benefit to the person bringing the action or to the public outweighs any harm
to the public, to the agency or to any person identified in the data. The data in dispute shall
be examined by the court in camera.