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House Research Department Updated: July 2010 <br />Minnesota Government Data Practices Act: An Overview Page 3 <br /> <br /> <br />Data Classifications <br />The act establishes a presumption that unless otherwise provided by law, all government data <br />are public. The act then specifies (1) by what authority public access can be limited, and (2) <br />possible data classifications other than public. <br />Presumption All government data are public (can be inspected and copied by <br />anyone) (Minn. Stat. § 13.03, subd. 1), but access may be limited by: <br />• federal statute <br />• state statute <br />• temporary classification issued by the Commissioner of <br />Administration <br />(Minn. Stat. § 13.03, subd. 1) <br />Kinds of <br />Classifications <br />Data governed by state law that are classified as something other than <br />public are classified in one of the following ways: <br />• private: data identifying an individual that are only available to <br />the individual or with the individual’s consent (Minn. Stat. § <br />13.02, subd. 12) <br />• confidential: data identifying an individual that are not available <br />to anyone outside the entity holding the data, including the <br />individual (Minn. Stat. § 13.02, subd. 3) <br />• nonpublic: data on a business or other entity that are only <br />available to the subject of the data or with the subject’s consent <br />(Minn. Stat. § 13.02, subd. 9) <br />• protected nonpublic: data on a business or other entity that are <br />not available to the subject of the data or anyone else outside the <br />entity holding the data (Minn. Stat. § 13.02, subd. 13)