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One of the most common questions our office receives after trainings is, "Where can I buy a copy of the Data Practices Act book that you use?"
Good news! The 2025 version of the Data Practices Laws and Rules book is now available for purchase. The book provides the complete statutory text of the Data Practices Act (Chapter 13), the administrative rules for the Data Practices Act (Chapter 1205), and the Open Meeting Law (Chapter 13D).
You can purchase a copy of the book online from MN Government Publications DBA Allegra Eagan. Note: The 2025 version of the book is available under the "miscellaneous" category.
Of course, you can always find a free copy of statutory text on the Office of Revisor of Statutes website.
Law Enforcement Data Remote Workshop
The Data Practices Office will be hosting a Law Enforcement Data Remote Workshop on Tuesday, January 13. The workshop will provide a primer (or refresher) about the key provisions in Minnesota law governing law enforcement data, including:
- Discussion of general legal requirements, including criminal investigative data, juvenile data, traffic accident data, body camera video data, and more;
- Real-life problem solving scenarios based on actual inquiries; and
- Time for questions and answers about the day-to-day issues that involve law enforcement data.
The workshop will be held remotely on WebEx, and it will not require in-person attendance. The cost to attend this workshop is $250 per person.
More information about this workshop is available on our website.
Open Meeting Law Webinar
The Data Practices Office will be hosting a free Open Meeting Law Potpourri webinar on Thursday, January 29 from 11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
This webinar will provide a refresher on the requirements of the OML as well as a discussion about the top questions we've received about open meetings. Data Practices Office staff will also hold a live Q&A session.
Note: Our office will be using Microsoft Teams to host this webinar, which is a different platform than past webinars. You will receive an email confirmation with a calendar invite after you have registered
Registration for this free webinar is available on our website, and you can view recordings of past webinars on our YouTube Channel.
Open Meeting Law
In Advisory Opinion 25-010, a member of the public asked whether a school board violated the Open Meeting Law when a quorum of its members attended an invitation-only event at a private residence. The Commissioner determined that the board violated the OML because four of the seven board members were present and received information related to official school business. Although the board did not take formal action or organize the event, the gathering met the definition of a meeting under the OML. Since this meeting was not properly noticed and was not open to the public, the Commissioner concluded that the board did not comply with the requirements of the OML.
Entities Included in Welfare System
In Advisory Opinion 25-011, a county-based purchasing plan asked whether it was subject to the requirements of a Minnesota Statutes, section 13.46 after receiving a request from a media member for data it maintained. The purchasing plan denied the requester access, stating that section 13.46 classified the data as not public. However, the requester disputed whether the purchasing plan was part of the "welfare system" under the definitions in section 13.46. The Commissioner concluded that the purchasing plan met the definition of "welfare system" as defined in section 13.46, subdivision 1(c) because it contracted with the Minnesota Department of Human Services to perform a government function. Therefore, the requested data the purchasing plan maintained were subject to the requirements of section 13.46.
Data Practices or OML Questions?
Have questions about data practices or the Open Meeting Law? Contact us by email at info.dpo@state.mn.us or by phone at 651-296-6733. We are here to help!
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