Minnesota Legislature
Office of the Revisor of Statutes
Minnesota Session Laws - 1999, Regular Session
Key: (1) language to be deleted (2) new language
CHAPTER 227-S.F.No. 653
An act relating to government data practices;
clarifying electronic access to data; classifying
data; clarifying the status of data on parents held by
educational entities; eliminating inconsistent
language; authorizing dissemination of personnel data;
authorizing sharing of certain data for tax
administration purposes; changing deadlines for
providing data; clarifying and modifying access to
data on employees reporting violations of law; making
certain rideshare program data on individuals private;
providing for a recodification of data practices laws;
amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 13.03,
subdivision 3; 13.04, subdivision 3; 13.32,
subdivisions 2 and 3; 13.43, by adding a subdivision;
13.47; 15.17, subdivisions 1 and 2; 141.30; 181.932,
subdivision 2; 270B.03, subdivisions 1 and 5; 270B.14,
subdivision 1, and by adding a subdivision; and
273.124, subdivision 13; proposing coding for new law
in Minnesota Statutes, chapters 13; and 518; repealing
Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 13.72, subdivision
2; and 504A.595.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 13.03,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [REQUEST FOR ACCESS TO DATA.] (a) Upon request to
a responsible authority or designee, a person shall be permitted
to inspect and copy public government data at reasonable times
and places, and, upon request, shall be informed of the data's
meaning. If a person requests access for the purpose of
inspection, the responsible authority may not assess a charge or
require the requesting person to pay a fee to inspect data.
(b) For purposes of this section, "inspection" includes,
but is not limited to, the visual inspection of paper and
similar types of government data. Inspection does not include
printing copies by the government entity, unless printing a copy
is the only method to provide for inspection of the data. In
the case of data stored in electronic form and made available in
electronic form on a remote access basis to the public by the
government entity, inspection includes remote access to the data
by the public and the ability to print copies of or download the
data on the public's own computer equipment. Nothing in this
section prohibits a government entity from charging a reasonable
fee for remote access to data under a specific statutory grant
of authority. A government entity may charge a fee for remote
access to data where either the data or the access is enhanced
at the request of the person seeking access.
(c) The responsible authority or designee shall provide
copies of public data upon request. If a person requests copies
or electronic transmittal of the data to the person, the
responsible authority may require the requesting person to pay
the actual costs of searching for and retrieving government
data, including the cost of employee time, and for making,
certifying, compiling, and electronically transmitting the
copies of the data or the data, but may not charge for
separating public from not public data. If the responsible
authority or designee is not able to provide copies at the time
a request is made, copies shall be supplied as soon as
reasonably possible.
(d) When a request under this subdivision involves any
person's receipt of copies of public government data that has
commercial value and is a substantial and discrete portion of or
an entire formula, pattern, compilation, program, device,
method, technique, process, database, or system developed with a
significant expenditure of public funds by the agency, the
responsible authority may charge a reasonable fee for the
information in addition to the costs of making, certifying, and
compiling the copies. Any fee charged must be clearly
demonstrated by the agency to relate to the actual development
costs of the information. The responsible authority, upon the
request of any person, shall provide sufficient documentation to
explain and justify the fee being charged.
(e) If the responsible authority or designee determines
that the requested data is classified so as to deny the
requesting person access, the responsible authority or designee
shall inform the requesting person of the determination either
orally at the time of the request, or in writing as soon after
that time as possible, and shall cite the specific statutory
section, temporary classification, or specific provision of
federal law on which the determination is based. Upon the
request of any person denied access to data, the responsible
authority or designee shall certify in writing that the request
has been denied and cite the specific statutory section,
temporary classification, or specific provision of federal law
upon which the denial was based.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 13.04,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [ACCESS TO DATA BY INDIVIDUAL.] Upon request to a
responsible authority, an individual shall be informed whether
the individual is the subject of stored data on individuals, and
whether it is classified as public, private or confidential.
Upon further request, an individual who is the subject of stored
private or public data on individuals shall be shown the data
without any charge and, if desired, shall be informed of the
content and meaning of that data. After an individual has been
shown the private data and informed of its meaning, the data
need not be disclosed to that individual for six months
thereafter unless a dispute or action pursuant to this section
is pending or additional data on the individual has been
collected or created. The responsible authority shall provide
copies of the private or public data upon request by the
individual subject of the data. The responsible authority may
require the requesting person to pay the actual costs of making,
certifying, and compiling the copies.
The responsible authority shall comply immediately, if
possible, with any request made pursuant to this subdivision, or
within five ten days of the date of the request, excluding
Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, if immediate compliance
is not possible. If unable to comply with the request within
that time, the responsible authority shall so inform the
individual, and may have an additional five days within which to
comply with the request, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal
holidays.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 13.32,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [STUDENT HEALTH AND CENSUS DATA; DATA ON
PARENTS.] (a) Health data concerning students, including but not
limited to, data concerning immunizations, notations of special
physical or mental problems and records of school nurses are
educational data. Access by parents to student health data
shall be pursuant to section 13.02, subdivision 8.
(b) Pupil census data, including emergency information, and
family information, and data concerning parents are educational
data.
(c) Data concerning parents are private data on individuals
but may be treated as directory information if the same
procedures that are used by a school district to designate
student data as directory information under subdivision 5 are
followed.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 13.32,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [PRIVATE DATA; WHEN DISCLOSURE IS PERMITTED.]
Except as provided in subdivision 5, educational data is private
data on individuals and shall not be disclosed except as follows:
(a) Pursuant to section 13.05;
(b) Pursuant to a valid court order;
(c) Pursuant to a statute specifically authorizing access
to the private data;
(d) To disclose information in health and safety
emergencies pursuant to the provisions of United States Code,
title 20, section 1232g(b)(1)(I) and Code of Federal
Regulations, title 34, section 99.36 which are in effect on July
1, 1993;
(e) Pursuant to the provisions of United States Code, title
20, sections 1232g(b)(1), (b)(4)(A), (b)(4)(B), (b)(1)(B),
(b)(3) and Code of Federal Regulations, title 34, sections
99.31, 99.32, 99.33, 99.34, and 99.35 which are in effect on
July 1, 1993;
(f) To appropriate health authorities to the extent
necessary to administer immunization programs and for bona fide
epidemiologic investigations which the commissioner of health
determines are necessary to prevent disease or disability to
individuals in the public educational agency or institution in
which the investigation is being conducted;
(g) When disclosure is required for institutions that
participate in a program under title IV of the Higher Education
Act, United States Code, title 20, chapter 1092, in effect on
July 1, 1993;
(h) To the appropriate school district officials to the
extent necessary under subdivision 6, annually to indicate the
extent and content of remedial instruction, including the
results of assessment testing and academic performance at a
post-secondary institution during the previous academic year by
a student who graduated from a Minnesota school district within
two years before receiving the remedial instruction;
(i) To appropriate authorities as provided in United States
Code, title 20, section 1232g(b)(1)(E)(ii), if the data concern
the juvenile justice system and the ability of the system to
effectively serve, prior to adjudication, the student whose
records are released; provided that the authorities to whom the
data are released submit a written request for the data that
certifies that the data will not be disclosed to any other
person except as authorized by law without the written consent
of the parent of the student and the request and a record of the
release are maintained in the student's file; or
(j) To volunteers who are determined to have a legitimate
educational interest in the data and who are conducting
activities and events sponsored by or endorsed by the
educational agency or institution for students or former
students;
(k) To provide student recruiting information, from
educational data held by colleges and universities, as required
by and subject to Code of Federal Regulations, title 32, section
216; or
(l) To the juvenile justice system if information about the
behavior of a student who poses a risk of harm is reasonably
necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or
other individuals.
Sec. 5. [13.442] [BUILDING CODE VIOLATIONS.]
Code violation records pertaining to a particular parcel of
real property and the buildings, improvements, and dwelling
units located on it that are kept by any state, county, or city
agency charged by the governing body of the appropriate
political subdivision with the responsibility for enforcing a
state, county, or city health, housing, building, fire
prevention, or housing maintenance code are public data; except
as otherwise provided by section 13.39, subdivision 2; 13.44; or
13.82, subdivision 5.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 13.43, is amended
by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 13. [DISSEMINATION OF DATA TO DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC
SECURITY.] Private personnel data must be disclosed to the
department of economic security for the purpose of
administration of the reemployment insurance program under
chapter 268.
Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 13.47, is amended
to read:
13.47 [EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING DATA.]
Subdivision 1. [DEFINITION.] (a) "Employment and training
data" means data on individuals collected, maintained, used, or
disseminated because an individual applies for, is currently
enrolled in, or has been enrolled in employment and training
programs funded with federal, state, or local resources,
including those provided under the Workforce Investment Act of
1998, United States Code, title 29, section 2801.
(b) "Employment and training service provider" means an
administrative entity certified, or seeking to be certified, by
the commissioner of economic security to deliver employment and
training services under section 268.0122, subdivision 3, or an
organization that contracts with a certified administrative
entity or the department of economic security to deliver
employment and training services.
(c) "Provider of training services" means an organization
or entity that provides training under the Workforce Investment
Act of 1998, United States Code, title 29, section 2801.
Subd. 2. [CLASSIFICATION.] Employment and training data
are private data on individuals.
Subd. 3. [DISSEMINATION.] Employment and training data may
be disseminated by employment and training service providers:
(a) to other employment and training service providers to
coordinate the employment and training services for the data
subject or to determine eligibility or suitability for services
from other programs;
(b) to local and state welfare agencies for monitoring the
eligibility of the participant for assistance programs, or for
any employment or training program administered by those
agencies; and
(c) to the commissioner of economic security.
Subd. 4. [DATA PREPARATION.] To produce data required to
certify the eligibility of training service providers under
section 268.0122, subdivision 3, clause (7), the Workforce
Investment Act of 1998, United States Code, title 29, section
2801, or other studies required by law, the commissioner of
economic security, in consultation with the governor's workforce
development council, may:
(1) enter into a data exchange agreement with a training
service provider whereby the commissioner of economic security
shall furnish to the provider wage information under section
268.044 on individuals who have received training services from
the provider. The provider shall use this wage information to
prepare summary data determined necessary by the commissioner in
consultation with the governor's workforce development council.
The provider may use this wage information for conducting
studies to improve instruction; or
(2) if there is no agreement under clause (1), require the
training service provider to furnish employment and training
data determined necessary by the commissioner in consultation
with the governor's workforce development council.
Subd. 5. [SUMMARY DATA.] The commissioner of economic
security shall provide the training service providers, as well
as make available to the public, summary data on the performance
of the training services.
Sec. 8. [13.491] [RIDESHARE DATA.]
The following data on participants, collected by the
Minnesota department of transportation and the metropolitan
council to administer rideshare programs, are classified as
private under section 13.02, subdivision 12: residential
address and telephone number; beginning and ending work hours;
current mode of commuting to and from work; and type of
rideshare service information requested.
Sec. 9. [13.612] [MUNICIPAL UTILITY CUSTOMER DATA.]
Data on customers of municipal electric utilities are
private data on individuals or nonpublic data, but may be
released to:
(1) a law enforcement agency that requests access to the
data in connection with an investigation;
(2) a school for purposes of compiling pupil census data;
(3) the metropolitan council for use in studies or analyses
required by law;
(4) a public child support authority for purposes of
establishing or enforcing child support; or
(5) a person where use of the data directly advances the
general welfare, health, or safety of the public; the
commissioner of administration may issue advisory opinions
construing this clause pursuant to section 13.072.
Sec. 10. [13.772] [MINNESOTA POLLUTION CONTROL AGENCY
DATA.]
Data that identify specific locations within the state
where intensive and global survey site investigations are under
way, or are determined by the Minnesota pollution control agency
as appropriate for studying the cause of malformations in frogs,
are nonpublic data until the agency determines that it will not
investigate or has completed its scientific investigation at the
reported abnormal frog site.
Sec. 11. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 15.17,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [MUST BE KEPT.] All officers and agencies
of the state, counties, cities, towns, school districts,
municipal subdivisions or corporations, or other public
authorities or political entities within the state, hereinafter
"public officer," shall make and preserve all records necessary
to a full and accurate knowledge of their official
activities. Government records may be produced in the form of
computerized records. All government records shall be made on a
physical medium of a quality to insure permanent records. Every
public officer is empowered to reproduce records if the records
are not deemed to be of permanent or archival value by the
commissioner of administration and the records disposition panel
under section 138.17. The public officer is empowered to
reproduce these records by any photographic, photostatic,
microphotographic, optical disk imaging system, microfilming, or
other reproduction method that clearly and accurately reproduces
the records. If a record is deemed to be of permanent or
archival value, any reproduction of the record must meet
archival standards specified by the Minnesota historical society
provided, however, that this section does not prohibit the use
of nonerasable optical imaging systems for the preservation of
archival records without the preservation of paper or microfilm
copies. Each public officer may order that those photographs,
photostats, microphotographs, microfilms, optical images, or
other reproductions, be substituted for the originals of them.
The public officer may direct the destruction or sale for
salvage or other disposition of the originals from which they
were made, in accordance with the disposition requirements of
section 138.17. Photographs, photostats, microphotographs,
microfilms, optical images, or other reproductions are for all
purposes deemed the original recording of the papers, books,
documents, and records reproduced when so ordered by any public
officer and are admissible as evidence in all courts and
proceedings of every kind. A facsimile or exemplified or
certified copy of a photograph, photostat, microphotograph,
microfilm, optical image, or other reproduction, or an
enlargement or reduction of it, has the same effect and weight
as evidence as would a certified or exemplified copy of the
original.
Sec. 12. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 15.17,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [RESPONSIBILITY FOR RECORDS.] The chief
administrative officer of each public agency shall be
responsible for the preservation and care of the agency's
government records, which shall include written or printed
books, papers, letters, contracts, documents, maps,
plans, computer-based data, and other records made or received
pursuant to law or in connection with the transaction of public
business. It shall be the duty of each agency, and of its chief
administrative officer, to carefully protect and preserve
government records from deterioration, mutilation, loss, or
destruction. Records or record books may be repaired,
renovated, or rebound when necessary to preserve them properly.
Sec. 13. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 141.30, is
amended to read:
141.30 [INSPECTION.]
(a) The office or a delegate may inspect the instructional
books and records, classrooms, dormitories, tools, equipment and
classes of any school or applicant for license at any reasonable
time. The office may require the submission of a certified
public audit, or if there is no such audit available the office
or a delegate may inspect the financial books and records of the
school. In no event shall such financial information be used by
the office to regulate or set the tuition or fees charged by the
school.
(b) No agent or employee of the state of Minnesota shall
divulge to any person other than a member of the office, or duly
constituted law enforcement official, any data obtained from an
inspection of the financial records of a school, except in
connection with a legal or administrative proceeding commenced
to enforce a requirement of law. Data obtained from an
inspection of the financial records of a school are nonpublic
data as defined in section 13.02, subdivision 9. Data obtained
from inspections may be disclosed to other members of the
office, to law enforcement officials, or in connection with a
legal or administrative proceeding commenced to enforce a
requirement of law.
Sec. 14. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 181.932,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [DISCLOSURE OF IDENTITY.] No public official or
law enforcement official shall disclose, or cause to disclose,
The identity of any employee making a report or providing
information to a governmental body or law enforcement official
under subdivision 1 without the employee's consent unless the
investigator determines that disclosure is necessary for
prosecution., clause (a) or (d), is private data on individuals
as defined in section 13.02. The identity of an employee
providing information under subdivision 1, clause (b), is
private data on individuals if:
(1) the employee would not have provided the information
without an assurance that the employee's identity would remain
private, because of a concern that the employer would commit an
action prohibited under subdivision 1 or that the employee would
be subject to some other form of retaliation; or
(2) the state agency, statewide system, or political
subdivision reasonably believes that the employee would not have
provided the data because of that concern.
If the disclosure is necessary for prosecution, the
identity of the employee may be disclosed but the employee shall
be informed prior to the disclosure.
Sec. 15. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 270B.03,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [WHO MAY INSPECT.] Returns and return
information must, on written request, be made open to inspection
by or disclosure to the data subject. The request must be made
in writing or in accordance with written procedures of the chief
disclosure officer of the department that have been approved by
the commissioner to establish the identification of the person
making the request as the data subject. For purposes of this
chapter, the following are the data subject:
(1) in the case of an individual return, that individual;
(2) in the case of an income tax return filed jointly,
either of the individuals with respect to whom the return is
filed;
(3) in the case of a partnership return, any person who was
a member of the partnership during any part of the period
covered by the return;
(4) in the case of the return of a corporation or its
subsidiary:
(i) any person designated by resolution of the board of
directors or other similar governing body;
(ii) any officer or employee of the corporation upon
written request signed by any officer and attested to by the
secretary or another officer;
(iii) any bona fide shareholder of record owning one
percent or more of the outstanding stock of the corporation;
(iv) if the corporation is a corporation that has made an
election under section 1362 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, as amended through December 31, 1988, any person who was a
shareholder during any part of the period covered by the return
during which an election was in effect; or
(v) if the corporation has been dissolved, any person
authorized by state law to act for the corporation or any person
who would have been authorized if the corporation had not been
dissolved;
(5) in the case of an estate return:
(i) the personal representative or trustee of the estate;
and
(ii) any beneficiary of the estate as shown on the federal
estate tax return;
(6) in the case of a trust return:
(i) the trustee or trustees, jointly or separately; and
(ii) any beneficiary of the trust as shown in the trust
instrument;
(7) if liability has been assessed to a transferee under
section 289A.31, subdivision 3, the transferee is the data
subject with regard to the returns and return information
relating to the assessed liability;
(8) in the case of an Indian tribal government or an Indian
tribal government-owned entity,
(i) the chair of the tribal government, or
(ii) any person authorized by the tribal government; and
(9) in the case of a successor as defined in section
270.102, subdivision 1, paragraph (b), the successor is the data
subject and information may be disclosed as provided by section
270.102, subdivision 4.
Sec. 16. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 270B.03,
subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. [ATTORNEY IN FACT.] Any return or return
information to which this section applies is, upon written
request, open to inspection by or disclosure to the attorney in
fact duly authorized in a writing signed by the data subject or
to the person or persons designated by the data subject in a
written request for or consent to the disclosure. The request
must be made in writing or in accordance with written procedures
of the chief disclosure officer of the department that have been
approved by the commissioner to establish the identification of
the person making the request as the data subject.
Sec. 17. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 270B.14,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [DISCLOSURE TO COMMISSIONER OF HUMAN
SERVICES.] (a) On the request of the commissioner of human
services, the commissioner shall disclose return information
regarding taxes imposed by chapter 290, and claims for refunds
under chapter 290A, to the extent provided in paragraph (b) and
for the purposes set forth in paragraph (c).
(b) Data that may be disclosed are limited to data relating
to the identity, whereabouts, employment, income, and property
of a person owing or alleged to be owing an obligation of child
support.
(c) The commissioner of human services may request data
only for the purposes of carrying out the child support
enforcement program and to assist in the location of parents who
have, or appear to have, deserted their children. Data received
may be used only as set forth in section 256.978.
(d) The commissioner shall provide the records and
information necessary to administer the supplemental housing
allowance to the commissioner of human services.
(e) At the request of the commissioner of human services,
the commissioner of revenue shall electronically match the
social security numbers and names of participants in the
telephone assistance plan operated under sections 237.69 to
237.711, with those of property tax refund filers, and determine
whether each participant's household income is within the
eligibility standards for the telephone assistance plan.
(f) The commissioner may provide records and information
collected under sections 295.50 to 295.59 to the commissioner of
human services for purposes of the Medicaid Voluntary
Contribution and Provider-Specific Tax Amendments of 1991,
Public Law Number 102-234. Upon the written agreement by the
United States Department of Health and Human Services to
maintain the confidentiality of the data, the commissioner may
provide records and information collected under sections 295.50
to 295.59 to the Health Care Financing Administration section of
the United States Department of Health and Human Services for
purposes of meeting federal reporting requirements.
(g) The commissioner may provide records and information to
the commissioner of human services as necessary to administer
the early refund of refundable tax credits.
(h) The commissioner may disclose information to the
commissioner of human services necessary to verify income for
eligibility and premium payment under the MinnesotaCare program,
under section 256L.05, subdivision 2.
(i) The commissioner may disclose information to the
commissioner of human services necessary to verify whether
applicants or recipients for the Minnesota family investment
program, general assistance, food stamps, and Minnesota
supplemental aid program have claimed refundable tax credits
under chapter 290 and the property tax refund under chapter
290A, and the amounts of the credits.
Sec. 18. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 270B.14, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 17. [DISCLOSURE TO DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE.] The
commissioner may disclose to the commissioner of commerce
information required to administer the Uniform Disposition of
Unclaimed Property Act in sections 345.31 to 345.60, including
the social security numbers of the taxpayers whose refunds are
on the report of abandoned property submitted by the
commissioner to the commissioner of commerce under section
345.41. Except for data published under section 345.42, the
information received that is private or nonpublic data retains
its classification, and can be used by the commissioner of
commerce only for the purpose of verifying that the persons
claiming the refunds are the owners.
Sec. 19. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 273.124,
subdivision 13, is amended to read:
Subd. 13. [HOMESTEAD APPLICATION.] (a) A person who meets
the homestead requirements under subdivision 1 must file a
homestead application with the county assessor to initially
obtain homestead classification.
(b) On or before January 2, 1993, each county assessor
shall mail a homestead application to the owner of each parcel
of property within the county which was classified as homestead
for the 1992 assessment year. The format and contents of a
uniform homestead application shall be prescribed by the
commissioner of revenue. The commissioner shall consult with
the chairs of the house and senate tax committees on the
contents of the homestead application form. The application
must clearly inform the taxpayer that this application must be
signed by all owners who occupy the property or by the
qualifying relative and returned to the county assessor in order
for the property to continue receiving homestead treatment. The
envelope containing the homestead application shall clearly
identify its contents and alert the taxpayer of its necessary
immediate response.
(c) Every property owner applying for homestead
classification must furnish to the county assessor the social
security number of each occupant who is listed as an owner of
the property on the deed of record, the name and address of each
owner who does not occupy the property, and the name and social
security number of each owner's spouse who occupies the
property. The application must be signed by each owner who
occupies the property and by each owner's spouse who occupies
the property, or, in the case of property that qualifies as a
homestead under subdivision 1, paragraph (c), by the qualifying
relative.
If a property owner occupies a homestead, the property
owner's spouse may not claim another property as a homestead
unless the property owner and the property owner's spouse file
with the assessor an affidavit or other proof required by the
assessor stating that the property qualifies as a homestead
under subdivision 1, paragraph (e).
Owners or spouses occupying residences owned by their
spouses and previously occupied with the other spouse, either of
whom fail to include the other spouse's name and social security
number on the homestead application or provide the affidavits or
other proof requested, will be deemed to have elected to receive
only partial homestead treatment of their residence. The
remainder of the residence will be classified as nonhomestead
residential. When an owner or spouse's name and social security
number appear on homestead applications for two separate
residences and only one application is signed, the owner or
spouse will be deemed to have elected to homestead the residence
for which the application was signed.
The social security numbers or affidavits or other proofs
of the property owners and spouses are private data on
individuals as defined by section 13.02, subdivision 12, but,
notwithstanding that section, the private data may be disclosed
to the commissioner of revenue, or, for purposes of proceeding
under the Revenue Recapture Act to recover personal property
taxes owing, to the county treasurer.
(d) If residential real estate is occupied and used for
purposes of a homestead by a relative of the owner and qualifies
for a homestead under subdivision 1, paragraph (c), in order for
the property to receive homestead status, a homestead
application must be filed with the assessor. The social
security number of each relative occupying the property and the
social security number of each owner who is related to an
occupant of the property shall be required on the homestead
application filed under this subdivision. If a different
relative of the owner subsequently occupies the property, the
owner of the property must notify the assessor within 30 days of
the change in occupancy. The social security number of a
relative occupying the property is private data on individuals
as defined by section 13.02, subdivision 12, but may be
disclosed to the commissioner of revenue.
(e) The homestead application shall also notify the
property owners that the application filed under this section
will not be mailed annually and that if the property is granted
homestead status for the 1993 assessment, or any assessment year
thereafter, that same property shall remain classified as
homestead until the property is sold or transferred to another
person, or the owners, the spouse of the owner, or the relatives
no longer use the property as their homestead. Upon the sale or
transfer of the homestead property, a certificate of value must
be timely filed with the county auditor as provided under
section 272.115. Failure to notify the assessor within 30 days
that the property has been sold, transferred, or that the owner,
the spouse of the owner, or the relative is no longer occupying
the property as a homestead, shall result in the penalty
provided under this subdivision and the property will lose its
current homestead status.
(f) If the homestead application is not returned within 30
days, the county will send a second application to the present
owners of record. The notice of proposed property taxes
prepared under section 275.065, subdivision 3, shall reflect the
property's classification. Beginning with assessment year 1993
for all properties, if a homestead application has not been
filed with the county by December 15, the assessor shall
classify the property as nonhomestead for the current assessment
year for taxes payable in the following year, provided that the
owner may be entitled to receive the homestead classification by
proper application under section 375.192.
(g) At the request of the commissioner, each county must
give the commissioner a list that includes the name and social
security number of each property owner and the property owner's
spouse occupying the property, or relative of a property owner,
applying for homestead classification under this subdivision.
The commissioner shall use the information provided on the lists
as appropriate under the law, including for the detection of
improper claims by owners, or relatives of owners, under chapter
290A.
(h) If the commissioner finds that a property owner may be
claiming a fraudulent homestead, the commissioner shall notify
the appropriate counties. Within 90 days of the notification,
the county assessor shall investigate to determine if the
homestead classification was properly claimed. If the property
owner does not qualify, the county assessor shall notify the
county auditor who will determine the amount of homestead
benefits that had been improperly allowed. For the purpose of
this section, "homestead benefits" means the tax reduction
resulting from the classification as a homestead under section
273.13, the taconite homestead credit under section 273.135, and
the supplemental homestead credit under section 273.1391.
The county auditor shall send a notice to the person who
owned the affected property at the time the homestead
application related to the improper homestead was filed,
demanding reimbursement of the homestead benefits plus a penalty
equal to 100 percent of the homestead benefits. The person
notified may appeal the county's determination by serving copies
of a petition for review with county officials as provided in
section 278.01 and filing proof of service as provided in
section 278.01 with the Minnesota tax court within 60 days of
the date of the notice from the county. Procedurally, the
appeal is governed by the provisions in chapter 271 which apply
to the appeal of a property tax assessment or levy, but without
requiring any prepayment of the amount in controversy. If the
amount of homestead benefits and penalty is not paid within 60
days, and if no appeal has been filed, the county auditor shall
certify the amount of taxes and penalty to the county
treasurer. The county treasurer will add interest to the unpaid
homestead benefits and penalty amounts at the rate provided in
section 279.03 for real property taxes becoming delinquent in
the calendar year during which the amount remains unpaid.
Interest may be assessed for the period beginning 60 days after
demand for payment was made.
If the person notified is the current owner of the
property, the treasurer may add the total amount of benefits,
penalty, interest, and costs to the ad valorem taxes otherwise
payable on the property by including the amounts on the property
tax statements under section 276.04, subdivision 3. The amounts
added under this paragraph to the ad valorem taxes shall include
interest accrued through December 31 of the year preceding the
taxes payable year for which the amounts are first added. These
amounts, when added to the property tax statement, become
subject to all the laws for the enforcement of real or personal
property taxes for that year, and for any subsequent year.
If the person notified is not the current owner of the
property, the treasurer may collect the amounts due under the
Revenue Recapture Act in chapter 270A, or use any of the powers
granted in sections 277.20 and 277.21 without exclusion, to
enforce payment of the benefits, penalty, interest, and costs,
as if those amounts were delinquent tax obligations of the
person who owned the property at the time the application
related to the improperly allowed homestead was filed. The
treasurer may relieve a prior owner of personal liability for
the benefits, penalty, interest, and costs, and instead extend
those amounts on the tax lists against the property as provided
in this paragraph to the extent that the current owner agrees in
writing. On all demands, billings, property tax statements, and
related correspondence, the county must list and state
separately the amounts of homestead benefits, penalty, interest
and costs being demanded, billed or assessed.
(i) Any amount of homestead benefits recovered by the
county from the property owner shall be distributed to the
county, city or town, and school district where the property is
located in the same proportion that each taxing district's levy
was to the total of the three taxing districts' levy for the
current year. Any amount recovered attributable to taconite
homestead credit shall be transmitted to the St. Louis county
auditor to be deposited in the taconite property tax relief
account. Any amount recovered that is attributable to
supplemental homestead credit is to be transmitted to the
commissioner of revenue for deposit in the general fund of the
state treasury. The total amount of penalty collected must be
deposited in the county general fund.
(j) If a property owner has applied for more than one
homestead and the county assessors cannot determine which
property should be classified as homestead, the county assessors
will refer the information to the commissioner. The
commissioner shall make the determination and notify the
counties within 60 days.
(k) In addition to lists of homestead properties, the
commissioner may ask the counties to furnish lists of all
properties and the record owners. Social security numbers and
federal identification numbers maintained by a county or city
assessor for property tax administration purposes, that may
appear on the lists, may be used by the county auditor or
treasurer of the same county for the purpose of assisting the
commissioner in the preparation of microdata samples under
section 270.0681.
Sec. 20. [518.146] [SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS; TAX RETURNS;
IDENTITY PROTECTION.]
The social security numbers and tax returns required under
this chapter are not accessible to the public, except that they
must be disclosed to the other parties to a proceeding as
provided in section 518.551, subdivision 5b.
Sec. 21. [REPORT OF DATA PRACTICES LAWS.]
The responsible authority of each state agency shall
prepare a list that identifies all data practices laws codified
outside Minnesota Statutes, chapter 13, that are not referenced
in Minnesota Statutes, section 13.99. The list must be
submitted to the office of the revisor of statutes no later than
September 1, 1999, so that the revisor can complete the data
practices law recodification as required in section 22.
Sec. 22. [REVISOR INSTRUCTION; DATA PRACTICES LAW
RECODIFICATION.]
The revisor of statutes shall reorganize Minnesota
Statutes, chapter 13, to create a structure that provides users
with quick access to the data practices laws codified in chapter
13, and locates references to data practices laws codified
outside chapter 13 adjacent to their particular service area
codified in chapter 13. For purposes of this section, "data
practice laws codified outside chapter 13" includes both laws
that place restrictions on access to data and laws involving
data sharing. Service areas may include government entities
such as state agencies, cities, or school districts, or
functional areas such as education, law enforcement, human
services, or child protection. If there is no appropriate
service area in chapter 13, the revisor shall recodify the
provision in another logical and appropriate place in chapter
13. The revisor shall consult with the chairs of the data
practices subcommittees in the house of representatives and
senate, and legislative staff. The revisor shall include the
data practices recodification in the 2000 edition of Minnesota
Statutes.
Sec. 23. [REPEALER.]
Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 13.72, subdivision 2; and
504A.595, are repealed. 1999 H.F. No. 2425, article 1, section
19, if enacted, is repealed.
Sec. 24. [EFFECTIVE DATE.]
Sections 4, 8, 15 to 19, 21, and 22 are effective the day
following final enactment.
Presented to the governor May 21, 1999
Signed by the governor May 25, 1999, 3:38 p.m.
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes