Minnesota FOIA Laws

Minnesota Open Meeting Law

The Minnesota Open Meeting Law legislates the methods by which public meetings are conducted. The law states that any gathering of a public body for the transaction of business is considered a meeting and is to be open. Anyone can file a suit against a public body if they feel that the public body violated the Minnesota Open Meeting Law. Fines can be up to $300.

Open Meetings Law Minn. Statutes Chapter 13D

Closed: Attorney consultation; personnel matters; labor negotiations; internal affairs for law enforcement personnel; criminal investigations; medical data; welfare data; and hospital boards considering marketing strategy.

Minnesota Data Practices Act

The Minnesota Data Practices Act is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of government bodies at all levels. Public records are defined as all data collected, created, received, maintained or disseminated by any government entity regardless of its physical form, storage media or conditions of use.

Anyone may request public records and they are also entitled to have the data explained to them if they don’t understand it. No statement of purpose is required and the only restriction of the use of records is that if a commercial use is intended the government agency may charge an additional fee. There is no response time specified in the Minnesota Data Practices Act.

Open Records Law Minn. Statutes 13.01 et seq.

Exempt: Juvenile court records; and some personnel information.

Visit, Minnesota Sample FOIA Request, to view a sample FOIA request for the state.