Purpose

• Establish a requirement for state agencies to provide data to the Legislative Budget Office (LBO) to help prepare fiscal notes and to allow the LBO to review the accuracy of enacted legislation’s fiscal notes. The bill allows the sharing of not-public data when needed for this purpose and aims to improve the accuracy and reliability of fiscal notes used in the legislative process.

Main Provisions

• Data sharing obligation

  • Upon request, the head or chief administrative officer of each state department or agency (including the supreme court) must promptly supply data used to prepare a fiscal note or data needed to review the accuracy of a fiscal note.
  • This can include data that are not public under current law, provided there are no federal laws or regulations that prohibit sharing.
  • The LBO may only use not-public data for reviewing the fiscal note and cannot use or disseminate it for any other purpose, including sharing with legislators or other parts of the legislative branch.
  • Violations by the LBO staff can trigger removal, suspension without pay, or immediate dismissal, as directed by the oversight commission.

• Data sharing to the LBO (statutory alignment)

  • Minnesota agencies must provide data used to prepare a fiscal note or data needed to review the accuracy of a fiscal note to the LBO director upon request, consistent with the data sharing rules described above.
  • Sharing must follow standards and procedures adopted under the relevant statute, including timeliness requirements.
  • Agencies may not be required to pay for data supplied to the LBO for this purpose, per the bill’s cost provisions.

How the Bill Changes Current Law

• Expands the LBO’s access to data by explicitly allowing not-public data to be shared when necessary for fiscal notes and accuracy reviews.
• Tightens control over how not-public data can be used and who may access it, restricting dissemination beyond the LBO and the legislative process.
• Introduces enforcement provisions to ensure compliance by state agencies and the LBO, including consequences for misuse by LBO staff.
• Establishes that data sharing must follow defined standards and timeliness, and prohibits shifting data costs to the LBO.

Data Privacy, Access, and Oversight

• Not-public data can be shared only for the purpose of fiscal note work and accuracy review; cannot be used for other purposes or disseminated to non-authorized individuals within the legislature.
• Enforcement is overseen by an oversight commission, with penalties for improper handling by the LBO staff.
• Federal law considerations may limit sharing; the bill preserves that sharing is allowed only where not prohibited by federal requirements.
• The supreme court and all state agencies are included in the mandated data-sharing requirement.

Implementation Considerations

• Agencies must adhere to established data standards and timeliness procedures when providing data.
• The LBO is protected from having to pay data costs, ensuring ready access to needed information.

Relevant Terms - Legislative Budget Office (LBO) - fiscal note - not public data - data sharing - Minnesota Statutes section 3.8853 subdivision 4 - Minnesota Statutes section 13.64 subdivision 4 - data standards - timeliness - oversight commission - data dissemination - federal laws or regulations - supreme court - department or agency - data costs - review of accuracy