1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to data practices; making certain welfare and 
  1.3             housing agency data available to law enforcement 
  1.4             agencies; amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, sections 
  1.5             13.46, subdivision 2; and 13.54, by adding a 
  1.6             subdivision. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 13.46, 
  1.9   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 2.  [GENERAL.] (a) Unless the data is summary data or 
  1.11  a statute specifically provides a different classification, data 
  1.12  on individuals collected, maintained, used, or disseminated by 
  1.13  the welfare system is private data on individuals, and shall not 
  1.14  be disclosed except:  
  1.15     (1) pursuant to section 13.05; 
  1.16     (2) pursuant to court order; 
  1.17     (3) pursuant to a statute specifically authorizing access 
  1.18  to the private data; 
  1.19     (4) to an agent of the welfare system, including a law 
  1.20  enforcement person, attorney, or investigator acting for it in 
  1.21  the investigation or prosecution of a criminal or civil 
  1.22  proceeding relating to the administration of a program; 
  1.23     (5) to personnel of the welfare system who require the data 
  1.24  to determine eligibility, amount of assistance, and the need to 
  1.25  provide services of additional programs to the individual; 
  1.26     (6) to administer federal funds or programs; 
  2.1      (7) between personnel of the welfare system working in the 
  2.2   same program; 
  2.3      (8) the amounts of cash public assistance and relief paid 
  2.4   to welfare recipients in this state, including their names, 
  2.5   social security numbers, income, addresses, and other data as 
  2.6   required, upon request by the department of revenue to 
  2.7   administer the property tax refund law, supplemental housing 
  2.8   allowance, early refund of refundable tax credits, and the 
  2.9   income tax.  "Refundable tax credits" means the dependent care 
  2.10  credit under section 290.067, the Minnesota working family 
  2.11  credit under section 290.0671, the property tax refund under 
  2.12  section 290A.04, and, if the required federal waiver or waivers 
  2.13  are granted, the federal earned income tax credit under section 
  2.14  32 of the Internal Revenue Code; 
  2.15     (9) to the Minnesota department of economic security for 
  2.16  the purpose of monitoring the eligibility of the data subject 
  2.17  for reemployment insurance, for any employment or training 
  2.18  program administered, supervised, or certified by that agency, 
  2.19  or for the purpose of administering any rehabilitation program, 
  2.20  whether alone or in conjunction with the welfare system, and to 
  2.21  verify receipt of energy assistance for the telephone assistance 
  2.22  plan; 
  2.23     (10) to appropriate parties in connection with an emergency 
  2.24  if knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the 
  2.25  health or safety of the individual or other individuals or 
  2.26  persons; 
  2.27     (11) data maintained by residential programs as defined in 
  2.28  section 245A.02 may be disclosed to the protection and advocacy 
  2.29  system established in this state pursuant to Part C of Public 
  2.30  Law Number 98-527 to protect the legal and human rights of 
  2.31  persons with mental retardation or other related conditions who 
  2.32  live in residential facilities for these persons if the 
  2.33  protection and advocacy system receives a complaint by or on 
  2.34  behalf of that person and the person does not have a legal 
  2.35  guardian or the state or a designee of the state is the legal 
  2.36  guardian of the person; 
  3.1      (12) to the county medical examiner or the county coroner 
  3.2   for identifying or locating relatives or friends of a deceased 
  3.3   person; 
  3.4      (13) data on a child support obligor who makes payments to 
  3.5   the public agency may be disclosed to the higher education 
  3.6   services office to the extent necessary to determine eligibility 
  3.7   under section 136A.121, subdivision 2, clause (5); 
  3.8      (14) participant social security numbers and names 
  3.9   collected by the telephone assistance program may be disclosed 
  3.10  to the department of revenue to conduct an electronic data match 
  3.11  with the property tax refund database to determine eligibility 
  3.12  under section 237.70, subdivision 4a; 
  3.13     (15) the current address of a recipient of ~~aid to families~~ 
  3.14  ~~with dependent children~~ temporary assistance for needy families 
  3.15  may be disclosed to local, state, or federal law enforcement 
  3.16  officers who provide the name ~~and social security number~~ of the 
  3.17  recipient and ~~satisfactorily demonstrate~~ notify the agency that: 
  3.18     (i) the recipient ~~is~~: 
  3.19     (A) is a fugitive felon~~, including the grounds for this~~ 
  3.20  ~~determination;~~ fleeing to avoid prosecution, or custody or 
  3.21  confinement after conviction, of an offense that is a felony 
  3.22  under the laws of the jurisdiction from which the individual is 
  3.23  fleeing; 
  3.24     (B) is violating a condition of probation or parole imposed 
  3.25  under state or federal law; or 
  3.26     (C) has information that is necessary for the officer in 
  3.27  the conduct of the officer's official duties; and 
  3.28     (ii) the location or apprehension of the felon is within 
  3.29  the law enforcement officer's official duties; and 
  3.30     (iii)  the request is made in ~~writing and in~~ the proper 
  3.31  exercise of those duties; 
  3.32     (16) the current address of a recipient of general 
  3.33  assistance~~, work readiness,~~ or general assistance medical care 
  3.34  may be disclosed to probation officers and corrections agents 
  3.35  who are supervising the recipient~~,~~ and to law enforcement 
  3.36  officers who are investigating the recipient in connection with 
  4.1   a felony level offense; 
  4.2      (17) information obtained from food stamp applicant or 
  4.3   recipient households may be disclosed to local, state, or 
  4.4   federal law enforcement officials, upon their written request, 
  4.5   for the purpose of investigating an alleged violation of the 
  4.6   food stamp act, in accordance with Code of Federal Regulations, 
  4.7   title 7, section 272.1(c); 
  4.8      (18) the address, social security number, and, if 
  4.9   available, photograph of any member of a household receiving 
  4.10  food stamps shall be made available, on request, to a local, 
  4.11  state, or federal law enforcement officer if the officer 
  4.12  furnishes the agency with the name of the member and notifies 
  4.13  the agency that:  
  4.14     (i) the member: 
  4.15     (A) is fleeing to avoid prosecution, or custody or 
  4.16  confinement after conviction, for a crime that is a felony in 
  4.17  the jurisdiction the member is fleeing; 
  4.18     (B) is violating a condition of probation or parole imposed 
  4.19  under state or federal law; or 
  4.20     (C) has information that is necessary for the officer to 
  4.21  conduct an official duty under subclause (A) or (B); 
  4.22     (ii) locating or apprehending the member is within the 
  4.23  officer's official duties; and 
  4.24     (iii) the request is made in the proper exercise of the 
  4.25  officer's official duty; 
  4.26     (19) data on a child support obligor who is in arrears may 
  4.27  be disclosed for purposes of publishing the data pursuant to 
  4.28  section 518.575; 
  4.29     ~~(19)~~ (20) data on child support payments made by a child 
  4.30  support obligor may be disclosed to the obligee; 
  4.31     ~~(20)~~ (21) data in the work reporting system may be 
  4.32  disclosed under section 256.998, subdivision 7; 
  4.33     ~~(21)~~ (22) to the department of children, families, and 
  4.34  learning for the purpose of matching department of children, 
  4.35  families, and learning student data with public assistance data 
  4.36  to determine students eligible for free and reduced price meals, 
  5.1   meal supplements, and free milk pursuant to United States Code, 
  5.2   title 42, sections 1758, 1761, 1766, 1766a, 1772, and 1773; to 
  5.3   produce accurate numbers of students receiving aid to families 
  5.4   with dependent children as required by section 124.175; and to 
  5.5   allocate federal and state funds that are distributed based on 
  5.6   income of the student's family; or 
  5.7      ~~(22)~~ (23) the current address and telephone number of 
  5.8   program recipients and emergency contacts may be released to the 
  5.9   commissioner of health or a local board of health as defined in 
  5.10  section 145A.02, subdivision 2, when the commissioner or local 
  5.11  board of health has reason to believe that a program recipient 
  5.12  is a disease case, carrier, suspect case, or at risk of illness, 
  5.13  and the data are necessary to locate the person. 
  5.14     (b) Information on persons who have been treated for drug 
  5.15  or alcohol abuse may only be disclosed in accordance with the 
  5.16  requirements of Code of Federal Regulations, title 42, sections 
  5.17  2.1 to 2.67. 
  5.18     (c) Data provided to law enforcement agencies under 
  5.19  paragraph (a), clause (15), (16), ~~or~~ (17), or (18), or paragraph 
  5.20  (b), are investigative data and are confidential or protected 
  5.21  nonpublic while the investigation is active.  The data are 
  5.22  private after the investigation becomes inactive under section 
  5.23  13.82, subdivision 5, paragraph (a) or (b). 
  5.24     (d) Mental health data shall be treated as provided in 
  5.25  subdivisions 7, 8, and 9, but is not subject to the access 
  5.26  provisions of subdivision 10, paragraph (b). 
  5.27     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 13.54, is amended 
  5.28  by adding a subdivision to read: 
  5.29     Subd. 6.  [LAW ENFORCEMENT ACCESS TO CERTAIN DATA.] A 
  5.30  housing agency that enters a contract for assistance under 
  5.31  United States Code, title 42, sections 1437 to 1440, shall 
  5.32  furnish a local, state, or federal law enforcement officer, upon 
  5.33  the officer's request, with the current address, social security 
  5.34  number, and photograph, if available, of a recipient of 
  5.35  assistance under United States Code, title 42, sections 1437 to 
  5.36  1440, if the officer: 
  6.1      (1) provides the name of the recipient to the housing 
  6.2   agency; and 
  6.3      (2) notifies the agency that: 
  6.4      (i) the recipient: 
  6.5      (A) is fleeing to avoid prosecution, or custody or 
  6.6   confinement after conviction, under the laws of the jurisdiction 
  6.7   from which the individual is fleeing, for a crime which is a 
  6.8   felony under the laws of that jurisdiction; 
  6.9      (B) is violating a condition of probation or parole imposed 
  6.10  under state or federal law; or 
  6.11     (C) has information necessary for the officer to conduct 
  6.12  the officer's official duties; 
  6.13     (ii) the location or apprehension of the individual is 
  6.14  within the officer's official duties; and 
  6.15     (iii) the request is made in the proper exercise of the 
  6.16  officer's official duties.