Expand personal information protections for judicial officials to state legislators

A bill for an act

relating to data privacy; expanding personal information protections for judicial

officials to state legislators; creating a legislative task force to study personal

information protections for government officials; requiring a report; appropriating

money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2025 Supplement, sections 480.40,

subdivision 1; 480.45, subdivision 2.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2025 Supplement, section 480.40, subdivision 1, is amended

to read:

Subdivision 1.

Definitions.

(a) For purposes of this section and section
480.45
, the

following terms have the meanings given.

(b)
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"Judicial official"
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"Covered official"
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means:

(1) every Minnesota district court judge, senior judge, retired judge, and every judge of

the Minnesota Court of Appeals and every active, senior, recalled, or retired federal judge

who resides in Minnesota;

(2) a current or retired justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court;

(3) employees of the Minnesota judicial branch;

(4) judicial referees and magistrate judges;
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and
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(5) current and retired judges and current employees of the Office of Administrative

Hearings, Department of Human Services Appeals Division, Workers' Compensation Court

of Appeals, and Tax Court
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; and
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(6) a current or former member of the Minnesota legislature
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.

(c) "Personal information" does not include publicly available information. Personal

information means:

(1) a residential address of a
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judicial
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covered
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official;

(2) a residential address of the spouse, domestic partner, or children of a
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judicial
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covered
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official;

(3) a
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nonjudicial branch issued
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personal
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telephone number or email address of a
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judicial
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covered
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official;

(4) the name of any child of a
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judicial
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covered
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official; and

(5) the name of any child care facility or school that is attended by a child of a
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judicial
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covered
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official if combined with an assertion that the named facility or school is attended

by the child of a
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judicial
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covered
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official.

(d) "Publicly available information" means information that is lawfully made available

through federal, state, or local government records or information that a business has a

reasonable basis to believe is lawfully made available to the general public through widely

distributed media, by a
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judicial
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covered
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official, or by a person to whom the
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judicial
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covered
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official has disclosed the information, unless the
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judicial
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covered
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official has restricted the

information to a specific audience.

(e) "Law enforcement support organizations" do not include charitable organizations.

(f) "Real property records" has the meaning given in section
480.50, subdivision 1
,

paragraph (f).

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2025 Supplement, section 480.45, subdivision 2, is amended

to read:

Subd. 2.

Removal of personal information; exception.

(a) Upon receipt of an affidavit

requesting removal of the personal information of a
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judicial
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covered
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official that meets the

requirements of subdivision 1, the person, business, association, or government entity shall

remove the publicly posted personal information within 30 days. If the person, business,

association, or government entity fails to remove the publicly posted personal information

within 30 days after an affidavit is submitted, the
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judicial
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covered
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official may file a civil

action in a court of competent jurisdiction seeking a court order compelling compliance,

including injunctive and declarative relief.

(b) Paragraph (a) shall not apply to personal information contained in real property

records, as defined in section
480.50, subdivision 1
, paragraph (f), when disseminated

directly by a government entity or when publicly posted or published in a manner required

by statute.

Sec. 3.
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LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE ON GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL PRIVACY

PROTECTIONS.
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Subdivision 1.

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Task force established.

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A government official privacy protection task

force is established within the legislative branch to analyze the need for expanded protection

of the personal information and privacy of Minnesota government officials and explore

options for efficiently and effectively administering such protections.

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Subd. 2.

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Membership.

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(a) The government official privacy protection task force consists

of 12 members, including:

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(1) the eight members of the Legislative Commission on Data Practices and Personal

Data Privacy;

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(2) one person appointed by the secretary of state;

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(3) one person appointed by the commissioner of administration;

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(4) one person appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court; and

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(5) the president of the Minnesota Association of County Officers, or a designee thereof.

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(b) Each appointing authority must appoint task force members no later than August 1,

2026.

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Subd. 3.

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Duties.

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The task force must analyze and evaluate:

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(1) the need for changing the personal information protections currently available to

government officials under law;

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(2) the need for changing what government officials qualify for those protections;

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(3) options for effectively and efficiently administering current protections as well as

any proposed expanded protections; and

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(4) other issues the task force considers relevant to protection of the personal information

and privacy of Minnesota government officials.

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Subd. 4.

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Meetings, administration, and compensation.

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(a) The task force shall elect

a chair and vice-chair and may elect other officers as necessary.

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(b) The chair of the Legislative Commission on Data Practices shall convene the first

meeting of the task force no later than August 1, 2026. The Legislative Commission on

Data Practices shall provide meeting space and administrative assistance as necessary for

the task force to conduct its work.

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(c) The task force shall meet at least monthly or upon the call of the chair. The task force

shall meet sufficiently enough to accomplish the tasks identified in this section. Meetings

of the task force are subject to Minnesota Statutes, section 3.055.

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(d) Minnesota Statutes, section 15.059, subdivision 3, governs compensation of the

members of the task force.

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(e) Members of the task force serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority or until

the task force expires. Vacancies shall be filled by the appointing authority consistent with

the qualifications of the vacating member required by this subdivision.

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Subd. 5.

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Report required.

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The task force must issue a report to the chairs and ranking

minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over data practices by

January 15, 2027, discussing the task force's conclusions, including any recommended

changes to state laws. The report must be prepared and filed consistent with the requirements

of Minnesota Statutes, section 3.195.

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Subd. 6.

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Expiration.

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The task force expires January 15, 2027, or the day following the

issuance of the report required under subdivision 5, whichever occurs first.

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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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APPROPRIATION; LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE ON GOVERNMENT

OFFICIAL PRIVACY PROTECTIONS.
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$....... in fiscal year 2026 is appropriated from the general fund to the Legislative

Coordinating Commission for the legislative task force on government official privacy

protections established in section 3. This appropriation does not cancel, but is available

until January 15, 2027, or until the expiration of the task force, whichever occurs first. This

is a onetime appropriation.

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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.
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REVISOR INSTRUCTION.
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(a) The revisor of statutes shall substitute the term "covered official" for "judicial official"

in Minnesota Statutes, sections 13.991, 480.40 to 480.50, and 609.476, as amended by Laws

2025, chapter 35, article 9, sections 6 and 10 to 13, when referring to those individuals

whose personal information is protected by those sections. The revisor shall also make

grammatical changes related to the changes in terms.

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(b) In Minnesota Statutes, the revisor of statutes shall renumber as chapter 10B the

personal information protection laws that are currently coded as Minnesota Statutes, sections

480.40 to 480.50, and shall appropriately revise any statutory cross-references consistent

with that recoding.

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