Disclosure limitations on personnel data for employees of secure treatment facilities and treatment facilities modified.

A bill for an act

relating to state-operated human services; modifying disclosure limitations on

certain personnel data for employees of secure treatment facilities and treatment

facilities; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections 13.43, subdivision 5a;

253B.03, subdivisions 2, 3; 253D.19, subdivision 1; proposing coding for new

law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 253B.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 13.43, subdivision 5a, is amended to read:

Subd. 5a.

Limitation on disclosure of certain personnel data.

Notwithstanding any

other provision of this section, the following data relating to employees of a secure treatment

facility defined in section
253B.02, subdivision 18a
,
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or 253D.02, subdivision 13; employees

of a treatment program as defined in section 253D.02, subdivision 17;
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employees of a state

correctional facility
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,
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;
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or employees of the Department of Corrections directly involved in

supervision of offenders in the community
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, shall
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must
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not be disclosed to facility patients
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or clients
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, corrections inmates, or other individuals who facility or correction administrators

reasonably believe will use the information to harass, intimidate, or assault any of these

employees:

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(1)
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place where previous education or training occurred;

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(2)
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place of prior employment; and

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(3)
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payroll timesheets or other comparable data, to the extent that disclosure of payroll

timesheets or other comparable data may disclose future work assignments, home address

or telephone number, the location of an employee during nonwork hours, or the location of

an employee's immediate family members.

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EFFECTIVE DATE.

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This section is effective the day following final enactment and

applies to any data request pending on or received after that date.

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Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 253B.03, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Correspondence.

A patient has the right to correspond freely without censorship
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,

subject to section 253B.25
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. The head of the treatment facility or head of the state-operated

treatment program may restrict correspondence if the patient's medical welfare requires this

restriction. For a patient in a state-operated treatment program, that determination may be

reviewed by the executive board. Any limitation imposed on the exercise of a patient's

correspondence rights and the reason for it shall be made a part of the clinical record of the

patient. Any communication which is not delivered to a patient shall be immediately returned

to the sender.

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EFFECTIVE DATE.

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This section is effective the day following final enactment.

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Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 253B.03, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Visitors and phone calls.

Subject to the general rules of the treatment facility

or state-operated treatment program
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and section 253B.25
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, a patient has the right to receive

visitors and make phone calls. The head of the treatment facility or head of the state-operated

treatment program may restrict visits and phone calls on determining that the medical welfare

of the patient requires it. Any limitation imposed on the exercise of the patient's visitation

and phone call rights and the reason for it shall be made a part of the clinical record of the

patient.

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EFFECTIVE DATE.

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This section is effective the day following final enactment.

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Sec. 4.

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[253B.25] PATIENT ACCESS TO INFORMATION ON FACILITY

EMPLOYEES.

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The head of a treatment facility or state-operated treatment program may restrict patient

access to correspondence and telephone calls that the head of the treatment facility or

state-operated treatment program reasonably believes will be used to harass, intimidate, or

assault employees of the treatment facility or state-operated treatment program.

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EFFECTIVE DATE.

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This section is effective the day following final enactment.

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Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 253D.19, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Limited rights.

The executive board may limit the statutory rights

described in subdivision 2 for persons committed to the Minnesota Sex Offender Program

under this chapter or with the executive board's consent under section
246C.13
. The statutory

rights described in subdivision 2 may be limited only as necessary to maintain a therapeutic

environment or the security of the facility or to protect the safety and well-being of committed

persons, staff, and the public.
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Protection of staff from harassment, intimidation, or assault

is a basis for limiting the statutory rights described in subdivision 2.
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EFFECTIVE DATE.

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This section is effective the day following final enactment.

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