Purpose

To restrict how Minnesota government entities share personally identifying information with federal officials or agencies. The goal is to protect individual privacy by ensuring such data is not shared unless it is masked or anonymized, with limited exceptions.

Main Provisions

• Definition: Personal identifying information (PII) means government data that can identify an individual.
• Prohibited data sharing: Government entities must not share PII with federal officials or agencies unless the data is first masked or anonymized.
• Exceptions: Sharing PII with federal officials or agencies is allowed only to the extent necessary to comply with a state statute or federal law, or pursuant to a court order.
• Override language: The prohibition applies notwithstanding other laws to the contrary, except for the stated exceptions.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Creates a new section (13.11) within Minnesota Statutes Chapter 13 (Data Practices) titled “Data Dissemination to Federal Officials and Agencies Prohibited.”
• Establishes a clear new privacy standard for when and how government data containing PII can be shared with federal entities.
• Increases emphasis on masking or anonymizing data before any potential disclosure to federal authorities, shifting current data-sharing practices toward stronger privacy protections.
• Sets explicit conditions under which any disclosure to federal entities may occur (state statute, federal law, or court order), potentially limiting routine cross-jurisdictional data sharing.

Relevant Terms - personally identifiable information - data practices - government entity - disseminate / sharing / disclosure - federal officials / federal agencies - anonymized / masked - Minnesota Statutes Chapter 13 - Section 13.11 - state statute - federal law - court order